bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The nature and measurement of work involvement
Authors: JANS N. A.
Published: August 2011

The construct ‘work involvement’ was viewed as having three dimensions: job involvement, or psychological identification with the position or job occupied; specialization involvement, or psychological identification with the career or specialization of which the present job is a part; and importance of performance to self‐esteem, an individual difference variable akin to the Protestant ethic. Two studies of professional Army officers are described (n = 100, and n = 384). Factor analysis of questionnaire items supported the hypothesis that the three attitudes are distinct. Scales were developed to measure the attitudes, and assessments of their validity and reliability are presented.
Determinants of choice of goal difficulty level: A review of situational and personality influences
Authors: CAMPBELL DONALD J.
Published: August 2011

The goal‐setting research literature is reviewed in an attempt to identify those variables having an effect on an individual's choice of goal level. Two broad areas are considered: situational factors and personality factors. Under situational factors, prior success or failure on the task, monetary and verbal incentives, feedback, participation, and competition are identified as probable determinants of the choice of goal difficulty level. Personality influences, such as need for achievement, higher‐order need strength, self‐assurance, and maturity are also reviewed, and it is concluded that these variables also influence an individual's choice of goal difficulty. Surprisingly, none of the reviewed studies directly examined the connection between such variables and goal difficulty; nor between goal difficulty and general personality. Thus, the early literature on level of aspiration is examined and the review supports the notion that choice of goal difficulty reflects a general personality trait, operating across different situations. Discussion focuses on the need for research which views goal‐setting behaviour as a personality trait, and the problems associated with such an approach.
Social values and the choice of careers in industry
Authors: DUFF ANDREW , COTGROVE STEPHEN
Published: August 2011

This paper reports the results of a questionnaire survey of students at Bath University. Those doing social science were more anti‐industrial in their social values than students of management, engineering and economics. Social science students tended to prefer non‐industrial jobs congruent with their values. Anti‐industrial values were highly correlated with career choice after controlling for degree course. It was concluded that choice of course and career choice may be explained as part of the process of political socialization and hence rooted in experiences in early adolescence.
A constructive replication and extension of a role and expectancy perception model of participation in decision making
Authors: LEE CYNTHIA , SCHULER RANDALL S.
Published: August 2011

Schuler's (1980) role and expectancy perception model of participation in decision making was replicated and extended. While Schuler's previous study examined only participation in deciding how to do the work, this study also examined participation in setting work objectives within the role and expectancy perception framework. Partial support for Schuler's model was found and the extension of the model was supported.
Investigating labour turnover and wastage using the logit technique
Authors: KNAPP MARTIN , HARISSIS KOSTAS , MISSIAKOULIS SPYROS
Published: August 2011

The aims of this paper are twofold: to identify those personal characteristics of trainee social workers, and their locations within a social services department, which are associated with high propensities to change jobs and to leave social work altogether, and secondly to describe and apply a relatively new and very powerful analytical technique to effect this identification. This technique—polychotomous logit analysis—is particularly well suited to the study of labour turnover and wastage and generates a number of interesting and important policy conclusions. Differences in the likelihood of leaving (‘turnover’) and in the subsequent destination of leavers (‘wastage’) were found to be significantly associated with the sex, age, educational and professional qualifications, length of service and workplace location of social work trainees. These findings have a number of policy implications which should be of relevance to personal social services planners and employers. We recommend the use of the polychotomous logit technique in subsequent research on labour turnover and wastage.
A note on reliability coefficients for the Manifest Needs Questionnaire
Authors: JOINER CARL
Published: August 2011

The Manifest Needs Questionnaire has been developed as a relatively short version of a needs assessment instrument. Recently concern has been raised about its reliability. This note reports some negative findings: none of the four needs scales had acceptable internal reliability.
Occupational socialization and psychological development: An underemphasized research perspective in industrial psychology
Authors: FRESE MICHAEL
Published: August 2011

This article argues for consideration of occupational socialization as a research focus in industrial psychology: the changes that come about in a person through his or her participation in work. Research on occupational socialization takes a developmental perspective, and is a part of life‐span developmental psychology. Specifically, the framework of occupational socialization calls attention to these research questions: The effects of work on a worker's actions outside of the workplace (e.g. the influence of the nature of work on the development of an active or passive approach to life generally); the effects of work on cognition; the effects on emotions; the effects of the work situation on the values of an employee who has just taken on a new role, etc. The perspective of occupational socialization is tied to the methodology of longitudinal research.
On the use of shift as an independent variable in absenteeism research
Authors: MARKHAM STEVEN E. , DANSEREAU FRED , ALUTTO JOSEPH A.
Published: August 2011

This research tests longitudinal data from a two‐year period for differences in absenteeism rates for different shifts. The data support the importance of analysing temporal trends for the dependent variable of absenteeism. They also support interactions between shift and temporal trends even though no main effect differences were found between shifts. Qualifications of the meaning of shift as an independent variable must be made in future absenteeism research.
Self theory: An integrative theory of work motivation
Authors: SNYDER ROBERT A. , WILLIAMS RONALD R.
Published: August 2011

Recent criticisms have resulted in a broad‐based scepticism about need satisfaction theories of occupational psychology. The present paper presents and describes a need satisfaction theory which is a molar and integrated formulation of the various self‐referent constructs found in the literature.

This theory, self theory, is based on the premise that human beings have a fundamental need to maintain or enhance the phenomenal self. It is argued that self theory is relatively robust against the common criticisms of other need satisfaction theories, provides plausible rival explanations for phenomena that have conventionally been interpreted as support for other need satisfaction theories, and is a useful mechanism for integrating the traditionally diverse approaches to the study of work motivation.

Self theory is critically compared with the currently most popular theories used to explain behaviour in work organizations. Implications of self theory for the study of occupational psychology are discussed.
A contingency model of participative decision making: An analysis of 56 decisions in three Dutch organizations
Authors:   DIO INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH TEAM
Published: August 2011

This article presents and discusses some results from a study of different forms of participative decision making. The report describes the model used in the study as related to the relevant literature. Decision making is seen as a longitudinal process in which several phases can be distinguished. Moreover, even within complex decisions, which have been studied in this research, a further distinction between medium‐term/tactical and long‐term/strategic decisions seemed fruitful. The model underlying the decision‐making research is a ‘contingent model’, implying that there is no one best way of decision making.

The independent variable in the model is the participative style of decision making. A number of outcome variables, including efficiency, achievement, satisfaction with the process and with the outcome, have been selected as dependent variables. Nature of the decision, phase of the decision‐making process and a number of factors such as clarity of goal, conflict and meta power, have served as contingent factors.

The study shows that the phase of the decision‐making process in an important contingency variable. Phase‐specific analysis gave better insight into the nature and effects of participative decision making. Moreover, the other contingency variables also proved quite effective. A number of interesting relations could be found within subgroups classified on the basis of the contingent factors, whereas in the total group very few relationships could be established. Effectiveness and satisfaction with process and outcome resulting from participative decision making were found only for tactical and for strategic decisions. A similar contingency was found under conditions of low clarity of goal, and high level of conflict.
Teacher stress: Exploratory model building
Authors: TELLENBACK STEN , BRENNER STEN‐OLOF , LÖFGREN HORST
Published: August 2011

The present paper introduces a conceptual model of teacher stress, two data sets are employed to discover variables relevant to the model, and the interrelationships between the variables are studied through a structural equations method, LISREL. A pupil‐related stressor is shown to be the most important antecedent to a state of general strain, mental disorders, and psychosomatic symptoms. The role of time‐ and management‐related stressors is more ambiguous. Swedish comprehensive school teachers show high levels of work‐related strain and are, to a very large degree, dissatisfied with their work. It is concluded that the inclusion of individual characteristics other than biographical ones, and of factors related to salary, career structure and occupational status, would probably increase the explanatory power of the presented models.
Correspondence between occupational rewards and occupational needs and work satisfaction: A canonical redundancy analysis
Authors: TZINER AHARON
Published: August 2011

The following hypothesis was derived from a general theory of work adjustment: the better the correspondence between occupational rewards and individual occupational needs, the greater will be employee satisfaction at work. Two samples of social workers were studied: one to obtain the occupational rewards levels, and the second to gauge individual occupational needs levels and satisfaction ratings with different work aspects. Then, vectors of difference scores between occupational needs and occupational rewards were computed for each of the subjects in the second sample, as a measure of the above correspondence.

The canonical correlation analysis method was employed to ascertain the strength of association between these difference score vectors and satisfaction ratings among the subjects in the second sample. A canonical correlation of 0.84 (P<0.01) was revealed, indicating that a strong association exists. A canonical redundancy analysis was also taken as a precautionary measure. The conceptual implications of this analysis were discussed.
Reconsidering the vertical dyad linkage model of leadership
Authors: ROSSE JOSEPH G. , KRAUT ALLEN I.
Published: August 2011

Four hundred and thirty‐three managerial dyads were studied in order to test aspects of Graen's role‐making model of leadership. Subordinates' negotiating latitude was found to be positively related to their job satisfaction and negatively related to their job problems, but to be uncorrelated with numbers of hours spent working. Leaders' negotiating latitude was not significantly associated with rated effectiveness of subordinates. Other predictions from the model were also unsupported. Conceptual and methodological suggestions for future research are offered.
Advanced technology and the quality of working life: The effects of computerized controls on biscuit‐making operators
Authors: BUCHANAN DAVID A. , BODDY DAVID
Published: August 2011

This article presents the findings of a case study which describes the impact of computerized controls on the jobs of biscuit‐making operators. Examination of company documents and interviews with managers indicated that decisions to use this technology were influenced more by people within the organization than by external economic and market forces. The chairman's investment policy, and the management objective of improving control over production, were key factors. Interviews with operators indicated that different applications of computing technology had different effects on jobs. The use of computer‐controlled dough mixing replaced the craft skills of the doughman. In contrast, the use of computerized biscuit packet weighing complemented the skills and knowledge of the ovensman by giving him more information on production performance, and requiring him to exercise judgement and discretion to control the process. The effects of technical change on work organization depend on a combination of factors, including the capabilities of the equipment, management objectives, and the physical and organizational structures created by past decisions. Human operators may retain key roles in computerized systems. It is therefore important that work is organized to develop the human skills and motivation required for overall system effectiveness.
The psychological impact of unemployment: A structural analysis of cross‐sectional data
Authors: BRENNER S.‐O. , BARTELL RIVA
Published: August 2011

This study used the LISREL methodology to explore important psychological processes in unemployment. The analysis is based on Hepworth's (1980) correlation data from 77 unemployed men. Results indicate that the extent to which a man perceives his time as being occupied or unoccupied affects his subjective well‐being and mental health. There may be a critical period for adaptation to unemployment, occurring soon after job loss. With the passage of time, a reciprocal process seems to take place, where mental health affects subjective well‐being and the proportion of time occupied/unoccupied. These two reciprocal processes could be indicative of a vicious circle of unemployment, resulting in increased negative effects with time.
The relationship of extraversion and neuroticism with job preferences and job satisfaction for clerical employees
Authors: STERNS LAURA , ALEXANDER RALPH A. , BARRETT GERALD V. , DAMBROT FAYE H.
Published: August 2011

A field study was conducted with 175 Civil Service clerical employees. The results indicated that extraverts preferred jobs with higher levels of cognitive task demands, pace of task demands, cognitive closure, extrinsic rewards and intrinsic rewards. Neuroticism was negatively related to these preferences except for extrinsic rewards, and the relationships were not as strong. Extraverts were found to be less satisfied than introverts with their present clerical job in terms of the work itself, supervision and co‐workers as measured by the Job Descriptive Index. Neuroticism was unrelated to job satisfaction.
Factors influencing the quality of life in dual‐career families
Authors: SEKARAN UMA
Published: August 2011

Five work‐related objective and attitudinal factors and five non‐work‐related individual difference and family dynamics variables considered pertinent to the dual‐career family setting, were examined for their impact on the quality of life enjoyed by husbands and wives in dual‐career families. For the purpose of this study, a dual‐career family was defined as one where both spouses had full‐time jobs outside of their home. The responses of 127 dual‐career family spouses employed in five business organizations, a hospital and a university were analysed. Results indicated that: (1) the set of five non‐work variables—multiple role stresses, enabling processes, integration of family and work roles, self‐esteem, and hired help utilized—were good predictors of life satisfaction; (2) the work‐relevant variables—career salience, job involvement, self‐esteem from the job, discretionary time spent on job‐related activities, and income were significant but not crucial predictors of job satisfaction; (3) the interactions between work‐relevant variables and gender moderated the impact of the work variables on job satisfaction; (4) the correlation between life and job satisfaction was significant, but modest; and (5) there was a significant difference between the life satisfaction of husbands and wives in dual‐career families.
Inferring personal qualities through handwriting analysis
Authors: KLIMOSKI RICHARD J. , RAFAELI ANAT
Published: August 2011

Handwriting analysis has been of interest to many areas of psychology, as well as to the general public. While the popular interest in this topic has been growing over the years, scientific research is limited. This article is intended to familiarize the reader with the essential features and the present status of handwriting analysis. The procedure of analysing scripts is outlined, as are the different methods of integrating graphological inferences. Information on the ability to infer personal qualities through handwriting analysis is reviewed in light of the two basic psychometric questions: reliability and validity. Issues unique to the study of graphology are examined—namely, the effects of the content of a script sample, and the professional skill required to analyse script. The present state of knowledge on this topic can best be described by saying its use in applied settings is premature. Although the literature on this topic suffers from significant methodological negligence, the general trend of findings is to suggest that graphology is not a viable assessment method.
The role of personality, occupation and organization in understanding the relationship between job stress, performance and absenteeism
Authors: ARSENAULT ANDRÉ , DOLAN SHIMON
Published: August 2011

The relationship between job content and job context sources of stress and selected behavioural and attitudinal outcomes, absenteeism and perceived performance, was empirically examined, while controlling for differences in personality, occupation and organizational culture. Twelve hundred hospital workers were administered an occupational stress questionnaire and attendance records were collected from personnel files.

Job content stress was found to reduce absenteeism but not to influence perceived performance, while job context stress increases absenteeism and reduces perceived performance. Personality was found to have a significant effect on performance but not on absenteeism; occupation influences absenteeism but not performance; and organizational culture contributes to the explanation of both absenteeism and performance. A significant interaction between job context stress and personality types was documented for the two outcomes.
Time structure and purposeful activity among employed and unemployed university graduates
Authors: FEATHER N. T. , BOND M. J.
Published: August 2011

Employed and unemployed male and female university graduates completed a questionnaire that included the Backman et al. (1978) self‐esteem scale, the short form of the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck & Beck, 1972) and items designed to measure employment importance and the extent to which time was used in a structured and purposeful way. It was found that graduates in the unemployed sample were less organized and less purposeful in their use of time and reported more depressive symptoms when compared with the employed sample. In both groups structured and purposeful use of time was positively associated with self‐esteem and negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Correlations between employment importance and the use of time measures (total score, engagement, direction, structure and routine) were negative for the unemployed sample and positive for the employed sample, indicating that employment importance functioned as a moderator variable. Female respondents reported higher employment importance and more use of a routine but their self‐esteem scores were lower than those of the male respondents. Results were related to Jahoda's analysis of the latent functions of employment and to other recent studies of employment and unemployment but were seen as extending beyond the Jahoda analysis.
Autonomous work groups in a greenfield site: A comparative study
Authors: KEMP NIGEL J. , WALL TOBY D. , CLEGG CHRIS W. , CORDERY JOHN L.
Published: August 2011

This paper describes an investigation of the attitudinal and motivational effects of autonomous group working in a greenfield site. Through the use of multiple comparison groups, the study demonstrates that the planned manipulation of work design was successful, leading to greater perceived work role complexity as well as to commensurate differences in perceived leadership style. These manifest and experienced differences in work design are shown to result in significantly higher levels of job satisfaction. However, no effect was found for employee motivation, organizational commitment, trust or mental health.
Expectations and impressions in the graduate selection interview
Authors: HERRIOT PETER , ROTHWELL CAROL
Published: August 2011

Two investigations are described into the graduate recruitment interview held in one British University over two years. It was found that: interviewers' judgements of applicants were less favourable after the interview than before; interviews were used to amend impressions, and that these, especially the unfavourable ones, predicted judgements of suitability; applicants and interviewers had different prior expectations about the amount of time to be spent on various topics in the interview; the extent to which these expectations were experienced as met predicted interviewers' judgements of suitability; and both this variable and the impressions formed of the applicant predicted judgements of suitability over and above the initial judgements made on the basis of the application form only.
Job satisfaction and the fit between individual needs and organizational rewards
Authors: SCARPELLO VIDA , CAMPBELL JOHN P.
Published: August 2011

Many conceptualizations of job satisfaction view job satisfaction as a function of the match between the rewards offered by the work environment and the individual's pattern of needs for those rewards. However, the correlation between the need/reward match and job satisfaction typically is not very high, resulting in a considerable number of ‘ off‐quadrant ’ cases (i.e. dissatisfied people whose expressed needs are met by the work situation and vice versa). The purpose of this study was to determine if people who have higher or lower job satisfaction than their need/reward match would predict view their careers differently from those whose job satisfaction can be predicted. Subjects were 185 volunteers employed by research and development units of two multinational corporations. They were classified into quadrants using measures of job satisfaction, need importance, and reward availability developed as part of the Minnesota Work Adjustment Project. Information about vocational and career issues was collected by a half‐hour open‐ended interview. Results indicate that individual differences in aspiration level and different views of career progression help explain current job satisfaction over and above the match of needs and rewards.
Personality characteristics of US Navy divers*
Authors: BIERSNER ROBERT J. , LaROCCO JAMES M.
Published: August 2011

Several personality measures, assessing sensation‐seeking, socialization, locus of control, and trait anxiety, were administered to a representative sample of US Navy divers and the results compared to data obtained from published norms. The divers had significantly lower Internality‐Externality scores, were more poorly socialized, and had lower levels of trait anxiety than the norm groups. Findings for the five subscales of the sensation‐seeking measure showed that, compared to the norm group, divers scored significantly higher on the Thrill and Adventure Seeking subscale and significantly lower on the Experience Seeking and Disinhibition subscales. These findings correspond well to constructs of diver personality derived from earlier research. While the data indicate that these measures may be useful in screening and selecting personnel for hazardous occupations, future research should determine the reliability of these differences using appropriate comparison groups (e.g. non‐diving Navy personnel). Inasmuch as moderate correlations were found among the five subscales of the sensation‐seeking measure, the statistical independence of these subscales should be revalidated prior to using these subscales for screening and selection purposes.
Occupational stress management: A review and appraisal
Authors: MURPHY LAWRENCE R.
Published: August 2011

Published and unpublished studies evaluating the merits of occupational stress management are reviewed. Worksite stress management studies are compared along dimensions of type of work group, programme orientation and format, stress management methods, non‐specific effects, and long‐term maintenance of skills and benefits. Although studies differ widely on these dimensions and too few studies have been conducted to state unequivocally general conclusions, worksite stress management programmes appear to offer promise for helping workers cope with stress and exert greater control over physiological and psychological systems which are reactive to stressors. Troublesome issues in this young research area are noted and future research needs are enumerated. Finally, the advantages and potential disadvantages of worksite stress management programmes are described.
Frustration in organizations: Relationships to role stress, climate, and psychological strain
Authors: KEENAN A. , NEWTON T. J.
Published: August 2011

A measure of environmental frustration was constructed and administered to 401 young graduate engineers working in industry. Self‐reported frustration was associated with the dependent variables of anger reactions, latent hostility, job dissatisfaction and, to a lesser extent, work‐related anxiety. Evidence from multiple regression analysis indicated that organizational climate, role stress, and social support all contributed to the level of environmental frustration. These variables were also associated with the dependent variables, but frustration was still associated with anger reactions and latent hostility when their effects were controlled for statistically. The strongest predictors of dissatisfaction were organizational climate and qualitative underload.
A study of pre‐assessment centre candidate short‐listing
Authors: JONES ALAN
Published: August 2011

A trial was made of a brief short‐listing procedure, the aim of which was to identify applicants who were unlikely to be successful at a military assessment centre and whose attendance might therefore not be cost effective. Assessments of overall suitability, based on short interviews at a number of locations, correlated 0***.45 (n = 65) with assessment centre outcome. A subsequent headquarters reassessment, which included some further information, correlated 0***.53 with the outcome. It was found that variables relating to educational achievement, responsibility, and physical pursuits were particularly powerful in predicting the outcome, which is in agreement with known training demands. Problems involved in operating such a short‐listing procedure are discussed.
Nervous strain, anxiety and symptoms amongst 32‐year‐old men at work in Britain
Authors: CHERRY NICOLA
Published: August 2011

Amongst a group of 1052 men followed up since birth and living throughout Britain, it was found that reports of nervous strain at work related to features of the job (those in more highly demanding jobs reporting more strain), to earlier indications of prior susceptibility to anxiety and to a more frequent report of stomach pain, headache and sleep problems. The report of these symptoms, however, related to the indicators of susceptibility to anxiety rather than to the apparently stressful factors of the job, and it is concluded that exposure to the job demands examined in this study did not affect the frequency of symptom reporting.
Reliability and convergent validity of the Job Components Inventory
Authors: BANKS MICHAEL H. , MILLER RHONDA L.
Published: August 2011

Further evidence is presented on the reliability and validity of the Job Components Inventory (JCI), a recently developed job analysis technique. The JCI covers the use of tools and equipment, physical and perceptual requirements, mathematical requirements, communication requirements, decision‐making and responsibility requirements. Results of a study of 75 postmen and postwomen and seven supervisors are reported. Inter‐rater reliability, supervisor‐job incumbent agreement and inter‐office agreement were all found to be high. This study indicates that the JCI can be used to analyse jobs other than low skill youth jobs for which it was originally developed
The German humanization of work programme: Review of its first twenty publications
Authors: WILPERT BERNHARD , QUINTANILLA S. ANTONIO RUIZ
Published: August 2011

The German government's programme on the ‘humanization of work’ is one of the largest efforts to improve working conditions through close cooperation between employers, unions and academia. An important feature of this programme is an extensive subprogramme to facilitate transfer of research findings, development results and experiences to practitioners and wider interested publics. A government‐edited publication series is integral to such transfer activities. The first 20 book publications of this series are summarized and evaluated on the basis of 12 evaluative criteria derived in part from the programme's own goals. In spite of some notable deficiencies among the first publications (e.g. lack of basic research and integrative theorizing), it is argued that they cannot be taken as evidence of a failure of the programme as a whole. This is confirmed by the support of all interested parties for its continuation.
Automated testing: Past, present and future
Authors: BARTRAM D. , BAYLISS R.
Published: August 2011

Over the past 15 years, a considerable body of literature has built up concerning the automation of psychological tests. Most of this research has been in the area of clinical testing, and may be unfamiliar to many of those involved in occupational assessment. However, the growth of office automation over the past few years has provided the hardware support needed for the development of automated personnel assessment techniques in industry and commerce. The present paper: (1) reviews the major developments in the field of automated testing, bringing together the literature from the clinical and occupational fields; (2) describes the potential provided by microcomputers for the development of new forms of testing; (3) outlines certain problems peculiar to automated testing; and (4) describes the possible future development of ‘expert’ personnel assessment and selection decision support systems.
Person‐environment fit, job satisfaction and mental health
Authors: FURNHAM ADRIAN , SCHAEFFER ROSEMARY
Published: August 2011

This study was concerned with the consequences of person‐environment (P‐E) congruence at work in terms of Holland's model of vocational preference. Whereas there has been some work on P‐E fit and job satisfaction, and P‐E fit and stress, few studies have looked at the relationship between P‐E fit, job satisfaction and mental health. It was predicted that those people with a poor P‐E fit would have higher levels of mental distress and lower levels of job satisfaction than those who experienced a good P‐E fit. The results substantiated the major hypotheses of this study and are discussed in terms of the measurement and causes of job satisfaction. Criticisms and limitations of this type of approach are also considered.
A study of the psychological effects of redundancy and unemployment
Authors: STOKES GRAHAM , COCHRANE RAYMOND
Published: August 2011

This study is an investigation of the psychological and social consequences of redundancy and unemployment. A sample of redundant adults was monitored for the first six months following job loss. They were interviewed every four weeks and data concerning psychiatric symptoms, level and direction of hostility, self‐concept, social attitudes, interpersonal relations and family relationships were collected on each occasion. A matched control group of employed workers was also recruited and monitored. Significant differences between the unemployed who remained without work for the duration of the study and employed subjects were found on the measures of symptomatology, hostility, guilt, self‐satisfaction, acceptance by others and family role behaviour. In each case the redundant workers manifested the greater personal distress. Although there were no significant differences between the male and female unemployed, unemployment was experienced differently by each sex. Previous writers have suggested a stage theory of unemployment which is characterized by four principal stages: anticipation—optimism—pessimism—fatalism. The results of this study failed to confirm a stage model of unemployment.
The effect of variations in answer‐sheet format on aptitude test performance
Authors: BOYLE SEAN
Published: August 2011

Three different answer sheets were used in the administration of the General Aptitude Test Battery to groups of young adults (n = 302). The answer sheets, designed for use with different brands of Optical Mark Reader, varied in the shape of the response space. A two‐factor, repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction between subtests and type of answer sheet. Further analyses showed that performance on ‘speed’ tests was affected by the format of answer sheet used, whereas performance on mainly ‘power’ tests was not. The implications of the results for testing practice are discussed.
The stress chain: A longitudinal confirmatory study of teacher stress, coping and social support
Authors: BRENNER STEN‐OLOF , SÖRBOM DAG , WALLIUS EVA
Published: August 2011

A conceptual core model of the teacher stress process, assumed to be invariant, was tested on longitudinal data. A LISREL analysis confirmed the goodness of fit of the model. Teachers' relations to pupils and teachers' perception of pupils as a stress source result in general strain, and in turn lead to various stress reactions. Teachers who perceive students as stressors at the middle of the first term report general strain and impaired somatic and mental health at the end of the school year. The major part of successful coping seems to take place during the first half of the school year; later only minor changes are noticed. It is argued that the short‐term perspective on coping should guide further studies on teacher stress.
Feedback from video display terminals, performance control and stress in text preparation in the printing industry
Authors: KALIMO RAIJA , LEPPÄNEN ANNELI
Published: August 2011

The study investigated the impact of computer technology on work content, feedback, performance control, and mental strain involved in text preparation in printing shops. A total of 218 perforator typesetters, video display typesetters, proofreaders and photocompositors were surveyed with a questionnaire including scales on work characteristics, job satisfaction and perceived symptoms. A subsample of 90 persons was then submitted to measurements of vigilance, made with the critical flicker frequency technique three times a day, and to an evaluation of psychomotor performance (Bourdon‐Wiersma Vigilance Test) twice a day. The subjects assessed their state on a rating scale at the end of the workday.

The employees applying computer technology assessed the challenge, self‐determination and satisfaction of their work as higher than those applying traditional methods. Vigilance was significantly lowered during a day only among the perforator typesetters. Their daily self‐ratings were also the most negative. It seems likely that, in text preparation tasks with minimal variety, stress is diminished by the use of visual display terminals, which make feedback and control over performance possible. Although the groups did not differ with respect to perceived chronic symptoms, on the whole the use of computer technology seems to influence the process of text preparation favourably.
The relationship between absenteeism and production efficiency: An empirical assessment
Authors: MOCH MICHAEL K. , FITZGIBBONS DALE E.
Published: August 2011

Despite almost universal agreement that employee absenteeism leads to decreased production efficiency, there is little documentation of a relationship between these variables. Several authors have even suggested that absenteeism might have some beneficial effects. The present study finds that absenteeism and department efficiency are negatively associated only (1) when production processes are not highly automated, and (2) when the absences cannot be anticipated in advance. Despite these limitations, however, the costs attributable to the impact of absenteeism on department efficiency are substantial. Programmes designed to decrease unanticipated absenteeism, therefore, can result in considerable savings by increasing operating efficiency where employees are directly involved in the production process.
Female and male socialization experiences: An initial investigation
Authors: POSNER BARRY Z. , POWELL GARY N.
Published: August 2011

This study compares socialization experiences of 134 men and 84 women 8–10 months into their first jobs after college graduation. Generally the availability of various activities and events did not differ between men and women but men were more likely to report experiencing the various socialization activities as more helpful than were women. Contrary to speculations, the gender of an individual supervisor did not mediate either the perceived availability or helpfulness of various socialization opportunities. These findings are discussed within an attributional perspective.
Authoritarianism in British police recruits: Importation, socialization or myth?
Authors: BROWN LOUISE , WILLIS ANDREW
Published: August 2011

In the development of police officer authoritarianism, importation variables do not appear decisive. Police recruit authoritarianism is no different from that of fire service recruits with a similar background. Initial training, however, depresses authoritarianism despite the unambiguous emphasis in training on law and discipline. Finally, experience of on‐the‐beat policing leads to a dramatic increase in authoritarianism in a traditionally policed area with a high crime rate, but not in a low crime rate area with an emphasis on community policing.
Higher‐order need strength as a moderator of the job scope‐employee outcome relationship: A meta‐analysis
Authors: SPECTOR PAUL E.
Published: August 2011

A meta‐analysis was conducted to test the moderating effect of higher‐order need strength on the relationship between job scope and employee outcomes. Twenty samples were combined empirically using a modification of the Schmidt‐Hunter procedure. Results provided some evidence of the hypothesized moderator effect for job satisfaction, motivation and performance, with the evidence for job satisfaction being strongest. Employees high on higher‐order need strength demonstrated stronger correlations with all employee outcomes than employees low in need strength.
The paths to mental health: An exploratory study of husbands and wives in dual‐career families
Authors: SEKARAN UMA
Published: August 2011

This exploratory study tried to trace the links among three sets of exogenous variables—individual differences, work and non‐work factors—two endogenous variables—job satisfaction and life satisfaction, and the dependent variable, mental health, for husbands and wives in dual‐earner families to see if there were differences in the paths for the two groups. Data were collected from 166 non‐traditional families and the 332 responses were analysed to establish the links. It was found in this cross‐sectional study that, while both job satisfaction and life satisfaction had direct influences on the mental health of the husbands, such was not the case for the wives. For the wives, life satisfaction and two of the exogenous variables—multiple role stress and number of children—had significant direct links to their mental health. The implications of the findings of this exploratory cross‐sectional study for future research in the area are discussed.
Development and reliability of a job analysis technique
Authors: PATRICK J. , MOORE A. K.
Published: August 2011

This paper discusses reliability issues associated with the development of a job analysis technique—the Job Structure Profile. Inter‐rater reliability, measured by intraclass correlation, and retest reliability are calculated from the job elements of a sample of nine jobs. There is no difference in inter‐rater reliability between supervisors and job incumbents which is approximately 0.9. The effect of different mixes of incumbents and supervisors on inter‐rater reliability was calculated and satisfactory levels are achieved with 4***5 raters. The average retest reliability for job elements is 0.76 with no difference in retest reliability between supervisors and incumbents. These findings are compared with those from other studies and practical issues are discussed.
Affective response bias in the measurement of perceived task characteristics
Authors: SCHNAKE MEL E. , DUMLER MICHAEL P.
Published: August 2011

The study examines whether an affective response influences the dimensionality of a perceptual measure of task characteristics, the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS). It was hypothesized that affective response to the job may operate as a source of bias and influence the dimensionality of the instrument. Non‐supervisory employees in two separate organizations completed the 15‐item task characteristics section of the JDS. A factor analysis of the responses resulted in a unique solution for each organization. An affective response (intrinsic job satisfaction) was then partialled out of the inter‐correlations of the 15 JDS items and a second factor analysis was performed on the residual data. The results indicated that removing an affective response improved the dimensionality of the instrument.
Work patterns in the professional life‐cycle*
Authors: RAELIN† JOSEPH A.
Published: August 2011

A discriminant analysis was performed on a sample (n = 114) of salaried professionals to distinguish work patterns among three age groups corresponding to early, middle and late career stages. Three distinct profiles were generated by the two significant discriminant functions which emerged. The three career stage groups were given identifying labels: ‘finding a niche’, ‘digging in’ and ‘entrenched’. The findings support a life‐cycle hypothesis of ageing and work patterns, although there is some substantiation for the cohort and ageing hypotheses in the literature. Scenarios for each of the three career stages are provided along with implications for improving the management of age‐specific professional human resources.
The impact of normative social influence and cohesiveness on task perceptions and attitudes: A social information processing approach
Authors: O'REILLY CHARLES A. , CALDWELL DAVID F.
Published: August 2011

This study investigated the effects of normative social influence and group cohesiveness on job incumbents' perceptions of their jobs and satisfaction with various facets of their work. The argument developed was that the intensity or approval attached to a norm‐regulated behaviour (Jackson, 1966, 1975) and the cohesiveness which characterized one's attachment to a work group would have social information processing (SIP) effects analogous to saliency and consistency as proposed by Salancik & Pfeffer (1978). Results, using data collected from 79 subjects holding the same job in 21 work groups, showed both direct and interactive effects of normative influence and cohesiveness on perceptions and satisfaction. These findings are interpreted as consistent with an SIP view of jobs and extend previous studies that have focused solely on the effects of informational social influence.
Let the decision maker decide!: A case against assuming common occupational value structures
Authors: WOOLER STUART
Published: August 2011

In this paper a hypothesis underlying much of the current work on occupational values, in particular many computer‐based occupational matching systems, is identified and tested. This hypothesis, here termed the ‘commonality hypothesis’, states that there exists a fixed set of occupational values which career decision makers commonly or typically seek to realize. It is argued that empirical evidence for the hypothesis is far from conclusive. Two kinds of evidence against the hypothesis are presented. Firstly, it is argued that the case for the hypothesis is undermined by evidence from the recent value elicitation literature showing that people's values are often ill‐defined, changeable and prone to distortion by the means used to elicit them. Secondly, data are presented suggesting that when commonality of values is not assumed but instead career decision makers are encouraged to generate their own subjective values, the occupational values which emerge are idiosyncratic and labile rather than stereotyped and stable as implied by the commonality hypothesis. The implications of this for occupational matching systems which prescribe the value dimensions by means of which person is matched with occupation are discussed.
Psychological correlates of employment and unemployment: Effects, predisposing factors, and sex differences
Authors: WINEFIELD A. H. , TIGGEMANN MARIKA
Published: August 2011

A longitudinal study is described in which 1636 young people were studied while they were at school and again, two years later. Four groups were defined by their employment/occupational status on the second occasion: at school, employed, unemployed, or engaged in full‐time tertiary education. The purpose of the study was to distinguish those psychological correlates of status that could be classified as predisposing factors (antecedents), those that could be classified as effects (consequences), and those that could be assigned to both categories. As other studies have shown, the effects of leaving school seemed to be beneficial on some measures of psychological well‐being, even where the alternative was unemployment. Also, some interesting sex differences emerged with respect to both predisposing factors and effects.
Group decision making in an assessment centre
Authors: HERRIOT PETER , CHALMERS COLIN , WINGROVE JANET
Published: August 2011

Ratings of suitability for training as Naval Officer were obtained from each of four assessors both before and after the final consensus discussion of a selection assessment centre. Analysis was conducted of those cases where three assessors agreed on their initial rating. The probability of a shift after the discussion by the exception to the majority rating was related to (a) whether the exception's rating was initially above or below that of the majority; (b) whether or not the majority rating was high on the scale; (c) the Officer rank of the exception. There was also a significant interaction between (a) and (b) (above). These results are discussed in terms of group influences on decision making.