Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

Work Design Characteristics As Moderators Of The Relationship Between Proactive Personality And Engagement, Damon Thomas Drown

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines which and how trait relevant work design characteristics moderate the relationship between proactive personality and engagement. Proactive personality is defined as an individual's tendency to intentionally and directly affect change in their environment (Bateman & Crant, 1993; Crant, 2000). Previous research has been primarily focused on the positive aspects of proactive personality; to fill this gap, I used trait activation theory (Tett & Burnett, 2003) to identify which work characteristics will activate proactive personality to affect engagement and developed specific hypotheses about which work characteristics will attenuate the proactive personality engagement relationship. In the study I identified …

A Resource Management Perspective On Work Design, Whitney Lane Huskey

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Chronic, negative, uninterrupted stress, specifically in the workplace, can lead to a variety of health issues as well as decreased job satisfaction and increased intentions to turnover within an organization. An important part of managing this negative stress is identifying the specific factors that contribute to it. The present study focuses on the negative consequences of occupational stress by identifying the work design characteristics that influence an individual’s perception of resource drain or gain and, ultimately, occupational stress. It is hypothesized that positive task characteristics, knowledge characteristics, social characteristics, and work context associated with the work environment will negatively correlate …

Can't We All Just Get Along? The Impact Of Goal Orientation On The Coach-Athlete Relationship And Coach-Athlete Communication, Meredith J. Nordbrock

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Research has demonstrated that the coach-athlete relationship is one of the key interpersonal factors that influences outcomes such as performance (Sánchez, Borrás, Leite, Battaglia, & Lorenzo, 2009), satisfaction with performance (Jowett & Don Carolis, 2003), and dropout rates (Fraser-Thomas, Côté, & Deakin, 2008). However, relatively little is known about the factors necessary to achieve and/or maintain a high-quality coach-athlete relationship. Building upon Jowett and Poczwardowski’s (2007) integrated research model, this study of 355 coach-athlete dyads explored how congruence (i.e., similarity, fit) of goal orientation (GO) impacted the quality of the coach-athlete relationship and coach-athlete communication. Specifically, it was hypothesized that …

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.

Personal Factors That Influence Meaning And Prioritizatin In Work-Nonwork Roles, Lindsay Ware Benitez

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The importance an individual places on one role over another is captured by a person’s identity salience, which can affect how work and nonwork roles are viewed and how one allocates time and resources to these roles. Within the literature there is a need to further understand what personal factors may influence the development of a person’s identity salience and ultimately contribute to the choices people make surrounding work and nonwork domains. The present study was designed to assess the impact of four higher order values that contribute to a person’s identity salience. Also examined was the potential impact of …

Relationships Among Nursing Burnout, The Big Five Personality Factors, And Overall Self-Concept: The Impact Of Assessing Common Method Variance, Matthew Thomas Ecie

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the extent to which common method variance (CMV) impacted many of the relationships between personality traits and the construct of burnout among registered nurses. It was hypothesized that once CMV was calculated and controlled for, relationships between personality traits and burnout would be weakened. Data were collected from working registered nurses (N = 274) and from BSN student nurses (N = 8). Scales measuring the IPIP Big Five, burnout, hardiness, core self-evaluation, optimism, and stress in general were combined to create a survey questionnaire. Results indicated burnout among nurses was significantly …

Competency-Based Versus Task-Based Job Descriptions: Effects On Applicant Attraction, Candace Leann Hawkes

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In order for organizations to attract applicants, they need to ensure they are using attractive recruitment materials. Previous research has failed to examine the effect of varying types of job description formats on applicants’ level of attraction to an organization. This study examined applicants’ attraction to organizations based on competency-based and task-based job descriptions. A total of 258 participants were from a Southeastern university, representing three different majors. The job descriptions were individualized based on academic major. Participants read both competency and task-based job descriptions and rated their attraction to each organization. The Big Five and Love of Learning measures …

Challenge And Hinderance Stressor Appraisals, Personal Resources, And Work Engagement Among K-12 Teachers, Isaac Benjamin Thompson

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Stress has long been conceptualized as consisting of two factors, eustress, or good stress, and distress, or bad stress (Selye, 1956). The occupational stress literature identifies challenge stressors as those associated with favorable outcomes, and hindrance stressors as those associated with negative outcomes (Cavanaugh, Boswell, Roehling, & Boudreau, 2000). The current study had three objectives: 1) to investigate occupational level stressor appraisal by K-12 teachers, 2) to explore how the perception of the availability of resources influences individual level stressor appraisal, and 3) to test differential outcomes of challenge and hindrance stress. Results indicate that K-12 teachers appraise workload as …

Academic And Mental Health Functioning In College Students With Chronic Medical Conditions, Casey Lawless

Honors Capstone Projects - All

As medical technologies continue to improve, what used to be considered terminal illnesses are now becoming chronic medical conditions. Studies have consistently shown that children and adolescents with chronic illnesses are more absent from school than their healthy peers (Fowler, Davenport, & Garg, 1992; Taras & Potts-Datema, 2005), and perform poorly in school despite having equitable intelligence levels (Sexson & Madan-Swain, 1993). However, despite thorough documentation of this phenomenon in younger children, there is a lack of research on the effects of chronic illness among college students. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of chronic illness …

Understanding Organizational Wellness: The Impact Of Perceived Organizational Support, Motivation, And Barriers On The Effectiveness Of Wellness Programs, Aaron Owsley Manier

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Organizational wellness programs can serve as a powerful tool for organizations to improve the health and well-being of employees. As organizational wellness grows in popularity and implementation, organizations should seek to understand employee perceptions of these programs to maximize their effectiveness and use. The present study examined the effect of perceived organizational support of wellness, core self-evaluation, and motivation/interest for wellness programs on wellness program use and satisfaction. This effect was tested with barriers to use and participative wellness design as possible mediators. Motivation and interest had a strong and direct effect on program use and satisfaction, while both organizational …

Shared Leadership In Dangerous Environments: Testing A Model For Military Teams Using Mixed Methods Research, Alex J. Ramthun

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

In a field study, the dissertation examined the influence of shared leadership on team performance for 51 military combat teams in a simulated dangerous environment. To simulate the dangerous context, the study employed amilitary tactical urban fighting complex, paintball weapons, role players, and a dynamic combat scenario. Using social network analysis techniques and after controlling for team diversity and combat experience, the study found the density measure of shared leadership to be positively and significantly related to team performance, accounting for 40% of the variance in team performance. This research also found both the centralization measure and density/centralization interaction effect …

Attitudes Toward Science (Ats): An Examination Of Scientists' And Native Americans' Cultural Values And Ats And Their Effect On Action Priorities, Adam T. Murry

Dissertations and Theses

Science has been identified as a crucial element in the competitiveness and sustainability of America in the global economy. American citizens, especially minority populations, however, are not pursuing science education or careers. Past research has implicated `attitudes toward science' as an important factor in the public's participation in science. I applied Ajzen's (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior to attitudes toward science to predict science-related sustainability-action intentions and evaluated whether scientists and Native Americans differed in their general attitudes toward science, cultural values, and specific beliefs about science. Analyses revealed that positive attitude toward science and the cultural value of individualism …

Factors Influencing Worker Morale: Evaluating Provider Demographics, Workplace Environment And Using Ests, David A. Patterson Silver Wolf (Adelv Unegv Waya) Phd, Catherine N. Dulmus Phd, Eugene Maguin Phd, Maria Cristalli

Brown School Faculty Publications

Objectives: Mental health organizations are strongly encouraged to implement empirically supported treatments (ESTs), however little is known about their working environments. The present study investigated how provider demographics, workplace environment and whether ESTs were used affected the worker morale. Methods: Front-line workers (N = 1,273) from 55 different programs in a single, large organization completed a measure of organizational culture and climate (OCC) and worker morale. A multilevel regression analysis used worker demographics to predict worker morale at level 1 and EST use and OCC scales to predict program level worker morale. Results: Worker morale was significantly negatively correlated with …

Trust In Functional And Dysfunctional Organizational Leaders: The Role Of Leadership Style, Employees’ Emotions And Trustworthiness Perceptions, Tatjana Ilic-Balas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Trust in leaders is increasingly recognized as a crucial organizational variable; meta-analytic evidence suggests that trust is associated with important outcomes of job performance, organizational citizenship behaviors, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover, and counterproductive behavior (Colquitt, Scott & LePine, 2007; Dirks & Ferrin, 2002). In this research, I investigated how various functional and dysfunctional leadership styles influence employees’ emotions, perceptions of leader trustworthiness, and trust in leader and explored the mediating roles of employees’ emotions and trustworthiness perceptions in the relationships between leadership styles and trust. The overarching goal was to develop and test an integrated model of leadership, emotions, …

Using Behavioral Interventions Amongst Unionized Workers To Increase Attendance, Marlies Hagge

Masters Theses

Employees’ attendance is fundamentally relevant for running a successful business. However, in many companies absences far exceed the national average of about 3% and pose a significant problem to the company’s overall success. This study compares the effectiveness of different low-cost behavioral interventions in order to increase attendance and specifically decrease the amount of avoidable absences from 6.3% overall absenteeism during baseline. Participants include 45 unionized custodians in 6 groups at a large Midwestern university. Interventions were introduced for 4 of the groups while the remaining 2 groups served as a control. Treatments evaluated include public recognition for perfect attendance, …

Onboarding And Career Development For Undergraduate Work-Study Employees, Kara M. Turman

Librarian Publications

Work based learning experiences can help students choose careers, network with potential employees, select courses of study, and develop job skills directly related to future employment. This practicum focuses on the student library assistant’s work-study experience and career development in the library circulation department of a northeastern United States liberal arts university.

Using Behavior-Analytic Techniques To Benefit An African Non-Governmental Organization: Improving And Expanding Services, Amy L. Durgin

Dissertations

The combination of a slowly recovering global economy, increased corporate competition, and higher standards from donors with respect to governance and accountably have posed significant challenges for nonprofit organizations around the world. In order to survive, these organizations must adapt their operational models and find new strategies for delivering on strategic goals, improving operational efficiency, and differentiating their services. The purpose of the present project was to employ behavioral techniques to improve operational efficiency and to develop opportunities for organizational growth by expanding the range of services provided by a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in East Africa that uses scent-detection rats …

Counselor Demographics, Client Aggression, Counselor Job Satisfaction, And Confidence In Coping In Residential Treatment Programs, Erik Braun

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Counselors at residential agencies are sometimes assaulted by physically aggressive clients (Flannery & Walker, 2001, 2008). As a possible result of this professional hazard, mental health professionals typically resign from residential counseling positions after approximately 14.6 weeks (Connis, 1979). Although job satisfaction and counselor confidence in coping with client aggression have been widely studied individually in the context of residential settings, researchers have examined these variables together. The overarching purpose of this study was to examine the association between counselor demographic characteristics, agency/environmental characteristics, and crisis intervention training and job satisfaction and confidence in coping with client aggression. Data were …

The Effects Of Technology On The Community Of Inquiry And Satisfaction With Online Courses, Beth Rubin, Ron Fernandes, Maria Avgerinou

Beth Rubin

This paper extends the research on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework of understanding features of successful online learning to include the effects of the software used to support and facilitate it. This study examines how the Learning Management System (LMS) affords people the ability to take actions in an online course. A model is proposed to explain the effect of LMS affordances on the Community of Inquiry and on course satisfaction, and propose and test several hypotheses about their relationships. A pilot study found that while two common Learning Management Systems had different tools, faculty varied widely in their …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of Black Male Law Enforcement Officers' Perspectives Of Racial Profiling And Their Law Enforcement Career Exploration And Commitment, Gregory A. Salters

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study explored Black male law enforcement officers’ perspectives of how racial profiling shaped their decisions to explore and commit to a law enforcement career. Criterion and snow ball sampling was used to obtain the 17 participants for this study. Super’s (1990) archway model was used as the theoretical framework. The archway model “is designed to bring out the segmented but unified and developmental nature of career development, to highlight the segments, and to make their origin clear” (Super, 1990, p. 201).

Interview data were analyzed using inductive, deductive, and comparative analyses. Three themes emerged from the inductive analysis …