Psychology Commons^™

Participate Or Else!: The Effect Of Participation In Decision-Making In Meetings On Employee Engagement, Michael Yoerger, John Crowe, Joseph A. Allen

Psychology Faculty Publications

In the scope of organizational life, few events are as universal or as influential as workplace meetings. In this study, we focused our attention on better understanding the relationship between meetings processes and post-meeting outcomes. More specifically, we investigated the relationship between participation in decision-making in meetings (PDM) and employee engagement, after controlling for the impact of meeting size and other demographic variables. We examined this from a theoretical perspective, providing particular consideration to the underlying basis of social exchange theory and norms of reciprocity at work in this relationship. Using a sample of working adults in the United States …

Organizational Identification: A Context-Specific Mitigating Resource Of Work–Family Conflict, Joseph A. Allen, John Crowe, Benjamin A. Baran, Cliff Scott

Psychology Faculty Publications

The tension between work and non-work life remains a critical issue in contemporary careers. This study explores the role of organizational identification (OI) in reducing work–family conflict (WFC) within demanding and high-stakes jobs in dynamic, uncertain and potentially dangerous contexts (e.g., firefighting). Survey data from 341 firefighters suggest that, congruent with conservation of resources theory and scarcity theory, OI may serve as a resource that mitigates WFC in these contexts. Additionally, the data suggest that the negative relationship between OI and WFC is stronger when trauma is low. For practice, this study provides important implications for employees in similar contexts …

How Fun Are Your Meetings? Investigating The Relationship Between Humor Patterns In Team Interactions And Team Performance, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, Joseph A. Allen

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research on humor in organizations has rarely considered the social context in which humor occurs. One such social setting that most of us experience on a daily basis concerns the team context. Building on recent theorizing about the humor—performance association in teams, this study seeks to increase our understanding of the function and effects of humor in team interaction settings. Specifically, we examine behavioral patterns of humor and laughter in real teams. We videotaped and coded humor and laughter during 54 regular organizational team meetings. Performance ratings were obtained immediately following the team meetings as well as at a later …

Suggested Practices For Making I-O Connections: Let’S Build Bridges And Grow I-O!, Joseph A. Allen, Tara S. Behrend, Suzanne T. Bell, Victoria J. Smoak

Psychology Faculty Publications

It may come as no surprise, but there are an awful lot of people who have no idea what I-O pychology is or what I-O psychologists do. Common reactions from new acquaintances include, “Ooo, I could really use some help organizing my home and be a more industrious person” or “Wow, that’s a mouthful” or “No really, what do you do for a living?” Perhaps even more alarming is the number of students across universities who aren’t introduced to I-O—even if they are psychology majors! We are struck by the number of prospective graduate students who tell us that they …

Linking Pre-Meeting Communication To Meeting Effectiveness, Joseph A. Allen, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nicole Landowski

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose – This study investigates the importance of communication that occurs just before workplace meetings (i.e., pre-meeting talk). We explore how four specific types of pre-meeting talk (small talk, work talk, meeting preparatory talk, and shop talk) impact participants' experiences of meeting effectiveness. Moreover, we investigate the role of participants’ personality in the link between pre-meeting talk and perceived meeting effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained using an online survey of working adults (N = 252). Because pre-meeting talk has not been studied previously, a new survey measure of meeting talk was developed.

Findings – Pre-meeting small talk was a …

Constructing Creativity: Wisdom In Everyday Problem Solving, Audrey Defrank, Nicholas J. Arreola, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Criss Library Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Creativity is conceptualized as an idea or product that is both original and high in quality (Amabile, 1996). Researchers have sought to better understand the creative process by examining predictors of creative outcomes. Wisdom may play a predictive role in this process. According to Webster (2003), wisdom is the competency in, and application of, critical life experiences to optimize development of the self, as well as others. Research has suggested that wisdom supports creativity at an implicit level (Sternberg, 1985, 1999), and contributes to creative achievements (Helson & Srivastava, 2002).

Process models of creativity have sought to demonstrate cognitive operations …

Understanding Workplace Meetings: A Qualitative Taxonomy Of Meeting Purposes, Joseph A. Allen, Tammy Beck, Cliff Scott, Steven G. Rogelberg

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose - Meetings are a workplace activity that deserves increased attention from researchers and practitioners. Previous researchers attempted to develop typologies of meeting purpose with limited success. Through a comparison of classification methodologies, we consider a taxonomy as the appropriate classification scheme for meeting purpose. The goal of our study is to propose a taxonomy of meeting purpose. We then utilize the developed taxonomy to investigate the frequency with which a representative sample of working adults engaged in meetings of these varying purposes. Our proposed taxonomy provides relevant classifications for future research on meetings and serves as a useful tool …

Manager-Led Group Meetings: A Context For Promoting Employee Engagement, Joseph A. Allen, Steven G. Rogelberg

Psychology Faculty Publications

Employee engagement is a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. Using Kahn’s theory of engagement, we look at an organizational context where employee engagement may be promoted—the workgroup meeting. Two time-separated Internet-based surveys were used to query a sample of working adults (N = 319). The findings provide support that the psychological conditions for engagement mediate the relationship between manager usage/facilitation of meetings and overall employee engagement. Specifically, as managers make their workgroup meetings relevant, allow for employee voice in their meetings where possible, and manage the meeting from a time perspective, employees …

Observing Culture: Differences In U.S.-American And German Team Meeting Behaviors, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, Joseph A. Allen, Annika L. Meinecke

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although previous research has theorized about team interaction differences between the German and U.S. cultures, actual behavioral observations of such differences are sparse. This study explores team meetings as a context for examining intercultural differences. We analyzed a total of 5,188 meeting behaviors in German and U.S. student teams. All teams discussed the same task to consensus. Results from behavioral process analyses showed that German teams focused significantly more on problem analysis, whereas U.S. teams focused more on solution production. Moreover, U.S. teams showed significantly more positive socioemotional meeting behavior than German teams. Finally, German teams showed significantly more counteractive …

A Theory-Driven, Longitudinal Evaluation Of The Impact Of Team Training On Safety Culture In 24 Hospitals, Katherine J. Jones, Anne M. Skinner, Robin High, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Effective teamwork facilitates collective learning, which is integral to safety culture. There are no rigorous evaluations of the impact of team training on the four components of safety culture—reporting, just, flexible and learning cultures. We evaluated the impact of a year-long team training programme on safety culture in 24 hospitals using two theoretical frameworks.

The Revolving Door: A Closer Look At Major Factors In Volunteers’ Intention To Quit, Joseph A. Allen, Stephanie L. Meuller

Psychology Faculty Publications

In nonprofit organizations, volunteer coordinators deal with high rates of volunteer turnover due, in part, to increased levels of volunteer burnout. This study sought to identify how burnout can help explain volunteers’ intention to quit and identify two potential antecedents of burnout: voice and role ambiguity. Specifically, it is hypothesized that volunteer voice and role ambiguity affects volunteers’ intention to quit through their relationship with volunteer burnout. Data were obtained from volunteers working in an animal welfare organization in the western United States (N = 151). An online survey was administered to volunteers who responded to a variety of questions …

Materials For Incorporating I/O Into An Introductory Psychology Course, Joseph A. Allen, Carrie Bulger, Chris Cunningham, Lisa Kath, Mike Horvath, Morrie Mullins, S. Tonidandel

Psychology Faculty Publications

The following materials were created by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) in an effort to produce some “shovel-ready” modules for incorporating I-O Psychology topics directly into Introductory Psychology courses. Although interest in I-O psychology has grown among students, very few introductory psychology textbooks cover the topic. Therefore, we have designed modules that correspond directly with the topics typically discussed in introductory psychology courses (e.g. Biopsychology in the workplace, Memory and Job Performance, etc.) that can be “cut-and-pasted” into already prepared lectures.

A Sequential Analysis Of Procedural Communication In Organizational Meetings: How Teams Facilitate Their Meetings, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, Joseph A. Allen, Simone Kauffeld

Psychology Faculty Publications

How do teams facilitate their own meetings? Unmanaged (or free) social interaction often leads to poor decision-making, unnecessary conformity, social loafing, and ineffective communication processes, practices, and products. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential benefits of procedural communication in team meetings. The role of procedural communication, defined as verbal behaviors that structure group discussion to facilitate goal accomplishment, was examined in 59 team meetings from 19 organizations. Meeting behaviors were videotaped and coded. Lag sequential analysis revealed that procedural meeting behaviors are sustained by supporting statements within the team interaction process. They promote proactive communication (e.g., …

Incorporating I-O Into An Introductory Psychology Course: A New Set Of Custom Modules By The Education And Training Committee, Joseph A. Allen

Psychology Faculty Publications

One concern that SIOP members often express at conferences and other gatherings of I-O psychologists is the general lack of visibility of I-O among the majority of the undergraduate students in psychology. Although interest in I-O psychology has grown among students, very few introductory psychology textbooks cover the topic. In an effort to address this concern, Mikki Hebl, the former Education and Training Committee Chair, invited a subcommittee composed of committee members and others who have expertise in undergraduate education to develop “shovel-ready” modules that introduce I-O topics to an introductory psychology audience. Those responsible for preparing the modules include …

Perfectionism: The Good, The Bad, And The Creative, Benjamin Wigert, Roni Reiter-Palmon, James C. Kaufman, Paul J. Silvia

Psychology Faculty Publications

The influence of adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism on creativity was examined. Initially, six measures of creativity were administered, including creative self-perceptions, behavior, and performance measures. Adaptive perfectionism was weakly positively related to creativity, whereas maladaptive perfectionism was unrelated to creativity across five of the six measures. A follow-up study assessed whether initial findings could be generalized to an everyday problem-solving task. Results indicated that adaptive perfectionism was related to higher quality but not originality of solutions. Further, a curvilinear relationship in the shape of an inverted “U” occurred between adaptive perfectionism and four of eight creativity measures. Overall, adaptive perfectionism …

Self-Awareness And The Evolution Of Leaders: The Need For A Better Measure Of Self-Awareness, Greg C. Ashley, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

A growing body of empirical research suggests that self-awareness is associated with successful leadership. Although self-awareness research has generated a number of scales to measure self-awareness, none have done so with the explicit focus of leadership. The present research is a summary of three studies designed to develop and begin validation for a scale to measure self-awareness in the context of leadership and leader development. The result of Study 1 and 2 was a 54-item self-awareness scale. A confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence for a marginal fit. Predictive validity was assessed in Study 3 by looking for associations between self-awareness …

Evaluation Of Self-Perceptions Of Creativity: Is It A Useful Criterion?, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Erika Morral, James C. Kaufman, Jonathan Bruce Santo

Psychology Faculty Publications

Self-evaluations or self-perceptions of creativity have been used in the past both as predictors of creative performance and as a criterion. Four measures utilizing self-perceptions of creativity were assessed for their usefulness as criterion measures of creativity. Analyses provided evidence of domain specificity of self-perceptions. The scales correlated with self-report measures of creativity, but not with objective measures. Self-perceptions of creativity had strong to moderate relationships with personality and creative self-efficacy. These results suggest that while self-perceptions of creativity may provide some information about creativity, researchers should be cautious when using this measure as a criterion.

The Effect Of Regulatory Focus On Idea Generation And Idea Evaluation, Kanexa, Inc., Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Regulatory focus, an individual difference characteristic, has been linked to decision making, such that those with a promotion focus show more risk taking and flexibility whereas those with a prevention focus are risk averse and more rigid. The relationship between regulatory focus and creativity has also been investigated, with similar results. However, the focus of these efforts has been on the idea generation phase (e.g., Friedman & Forster, 2001; Lam & Chiu, 2002). This study suggests that the influence of regulatory focus on creativity operates differently for the idea evaluation phase than with the idea generation phase. Furthermore, there are …

Inclusive Leadership And Employee Involvement In Creative Tasks In The Workplace: The Mediating Role Of Psychological Safety, Abraham Carmeli, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Enbal Ziv

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examines how inclusive leadership (manifested by openness, accessibility, and availability of a leader) fosters employee creativity in the workplace. Using a sample of one hundred and fifty employees, we investigated the relationship between inclusive leadership (measured at Time 1), psychological safety and employee involvement in creative work tasks (measured at Time 2). The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis indicate that inclusive leadership is positively related to psychological safety, which, in turn, engenders employee involvement in creative work.

Exploring Asynchronous Brainstorming In Large Groups: A Field Comparison Of Serial And Parallel Subgroups, Gert-Jan De Vreede, Robert O. Briggs, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: To compare the results of two different modes of using multiple groups (instead of one large group) in order to identify problems and develop solutions.

Background: Many of the complex problems facing organizations today require the use of very large groups or collaborations of groups from multiple organizations. There are many logistical problems associated with the use of such large groups including the ability to bring everyone together at the same time and location.

Methods: A field study involving two different organizations, comparing productivity and satisfaction of group. The approaches included a) multiple small groups, each completing the entire …

Inclusive Leadership And Employee Involvement In Creative Tasks In The Workplace: The Mediating Role Of Psychological Safety, Abraham Carmeli, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Enbal Ziv

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examines how inclusive leadership (manifested by openness, accessibility, and availability of a leader) fosters employee creativity in the workplace. Using a sample of 150 employees, we investigated the relationship between inclusive leadership (measured at Time 1), psychological safety, and employee involvement in creative work tasks (measured at Time 2). The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis indicate that inclusive leadership is positively related to psychological safety, which, in turn, engenders employee involvement in creative work.

Conscientiousness Is Not Always A Good Predictor Of Performance: The Case Of Creativity, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Jody J. Illies, Lisa M. Kobe-Cross

Psychology Faculty Publications

Meta-analyses investigating the relationship between Conscientiousness and performance suggest a positive relationship for a variety of criteria. However, recently it has been argued that Conscientiousness is not always a good predictor of performance, particularly for creative performance. Additionally, it has been suggested that Conscientiousness includes two distinct components, achievement and dependability, which may have different relationships with criterion measures. Two studies were conducted to determine whether the components of Conscientiousness predict creativity better than the full factor. Students in each study completed a measure of the Five Factor Model and a measure of creative performance. In the first study, creative …

Creativity And Domain Specificity: The Effect Of Task Type On Multiple Indexes Of Creative Problem-Solving, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Marcy Young Illies, Toleo, Infousa, Oriental Trading Co.

Psychology Faculty Publications

The study addresses the issue of domain specificity within creativity by understanding the characteristics of creative tasks and how participants react to the task. One hundred and eighty seven participants were given one of three realistic everyday problems to solve. The problems differed in terms of complexity, involvement, and problem-based efficacy. Problem solutions were evaluated on several measures of creativity. Results indicate that creativity was influenced by the type of problem solved and the measure of creativity used to evaluate the solution. Further, these results were obtained after controlling for the effect of ability. Results imply that not all real-world …

Problem Identification And Construction: What Do We Know, What Is The Future?, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Erika J. Robinson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Many cognitive process theories of creativity include an initial process of problem identification, definition, and construction. Previous research suggests that problem identification and construction is related to creativity, and that creative individuals and experts tend to engage in problem identification and construction. Finally, previous research suggests that inducing active engagement in problem identification and construction, through instructions or training, facilitates creativity. In this paper we further offer our views regarding important future direction for researchers in this area. Specifically, issues regarding methodology, the relationship between personality and values and how problems are constructed, and problem identification and construction in teams …

Making Exit Interviews Useful To A Correctional Agency, Marian Layman, Laura Farris, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Erin Gallagher, Shawna Williams

Psychology Faculty Publications

Exit interviews serve as a tool to uncover departmental characteristics and areas in which departmental change should occur,¹ and they are effective in gathering information from departing employees regarding impressions and experiences in their department.² Ultimately, the goal of using exit interview questionnaires is to obtain objective information, increase efficiency of the interview process and evaluate aspects of the department through data analysis.³

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (DCS) contracted with the Center for Applied Psychological Services (CAPS) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha to evaluate the reasons for personnel voluntarily leaving their jobs. This …

Introduction To The Special Issue: What We Can Learn From Large Scale Human Resources Initiatives In The Federal Government And Department Of Defense, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Michael D. Mumford, Michael A. Campion

Psychology Faculty Publications

Arguably, the government has some of the most complex and sophisticated Human Resource (HR) initiatives of any organization in the country. This is due to at least three reasons. First, the sheer size of the government requires sophisticated HR systems to manage the huge number of HR decisions required. Second, the HR systems in the government must respond to much greater external (public) scrutiny than any other organization because it is funded by government money and must be responsive to taxpayers interests and concerns. As such, fairness and defensibility are far more important factors than in other organizations. Third, the …

Occupationally-Specific Skills: Using Skills To Define And Understand Jobs And Their Requirements, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Marcy Young, Skillsnet, Joseph James

Psychology Faculty Publications

Recent work in Human Resources (HR) has highlighted the importance of understanding and identifying occupationally-specific skills. The purpose of this article is to describe the need to identify occupationally-specific skills and outline a methodology used to create occupationally-specific skills. Evidence of the validity of the methodology used is presented. The article concludes by identifying possible uses for occupationally-specific skills and providing information about actual implementation and use of systems based on occupationally-specific skills.

Development Of An O*Net Web-Based Job Analysis And Its Implementation In The U. S. Navy: Lessons Learned, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Skillsnet, Infousa, Oriental Trading Co.

Psychology Faculty Publications

Job analysis is described as the building block of most Human Resource (HR) functions. In recent years, many HR functions have been automated or adapted to computer applications; however, the use of computers for job analysis is lagging. The purpose of this paper is to describe a web-based job analysis process that is based on O*NET. The web-based job analysis process is more flexible and less resource intensive than traditional job analysis methods. The paper also will describe the application of the web-based job analysis process in the U.S. Navy and discuss strengths and limitations of this system.

Education And Training In I-O Psychology: Leaving The Psychology Tower: Nontraditional Programs In I/O Psychology, Brigitte Steinheider, David P. Costanza, Jennifer L. Kisamore, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

The need for programs that accommodate diverse types of students and adopt an interdisciplinary approach to the study of organizations has led universities with traditional I-O programs to also offer nontraditional programs. Nontraditional programs tend to attract highly heterogeneous sets of students in terms of age and academic and professional backgrounds or may be tailored for special types of students. Due to the mixed student population and high percentage of working adults, nontraditional programs tend to be more application and applied-research oriented than their traditional program counterparts.

Faculty, students, and administrators of nontraditional programs face a variety of challenges. In …

Using Archival Data For I-O Research: Advantages, Pitfalls, Sources, And Examples, Kenneth S. Shultz, Calvin C. Hoffman, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Two particular sets of experiences sparked our interest in writing this TIP article. The first was our increasing difficulty getting access to “new” organization- based samples. Depending on the topic and commitment involved, many organizations appear too leery and/or too strapped these days to allow for primary data collection. In addition, we have all experienced the disappointment of spending numerous hours on research proposals and meetings with organizational personnel, only to have the “plug pulled” at the last minute on a promising line of data collection. Conversely, we have also had experience with researchers in organizations who are willing and …