Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

Finding Balance Between The Needs For Conformity And Individuality: An Exploration Of Identity, C.C. Schwab

CMC Senior Theses

Just as society has changed a lot within the past 100 years, the concept of identity has also evolved significantly. A big factor in the evolution of identity has been the realization that social and group phenomena influence all conceptualizations of identity. In this review, I explore identity through the lens of Optimal Distinctiveness theory (ODT), which proposes that humans have two opposing social motives (distinctiveness and inclusiveness) that position them amidst an internal battle over identity.

I start by defining identity and the self, including the distinction between the two. Next, I explore identity formation and different types of …

The Effect Of Racial Confirmation Biases On Whistleblowing Intent, Charlotte M. Jacobson

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Previous research has demonstrated the negative impact of stereotypes on Black individuals in the workplace, including differential employment rates between races, the influence of race on hiring decisions, and the effect of racial discrimination on job satisfaction and turnover. However, the impact of racial stereotypes on employees’ decisions to report a witnessed wrongdoing (i.e., whistleblowing) have not been examined. In this study, I investigated whether racial stereotypes and confirmation biases make an individual more likely to blow the whistle on a Black coworker than a White coworker for the same wrongdoing. I also examined the potential moderating effect of the …

The Buffering Role Of Character Virtues On The Relationship Between Burnout And Its Antecedents, Allison Bachmann

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project explores the relationship between character virtues and burnout among student employees. It reviews and elaborates on the previous research findings in positive psychology and uses existing research on human virtues in order to further study their relationship with burnout. In exchange for extra course credit, students completed an online survey comprised of a demographic questionnaire and measures of character virtues, burnout, job control, and work overload. Analysis of the results focused on the specific virtues of courage and transcendence and the burnout antecedents of work overload, and lack of control. A multiple regression analysis was used to determine …

Why Empirical Studies Of The Groupthink Model Have Failed, Nolan Rajakumar

CMC Senior Theses

The theory of groupthink has been highly beneficial in the study of how groups make decisions. It has permeated almost every field containing decision making groups. Despite its popularity, there has been a surprising lack of empirical support for the model. It is the aim of this paper to suggest a possible explanation for the current state of groupthink research. First the groupthink model is described briefly, followed by a look at several selected empirical and case studies of groupthink. A potential reason for the dearth of empirical is then proposed along with a suggestion for future groupthink research.

An Analysis And Critique Of Mental Health Treatment In American State Prisons And Proposal For Improved Care, Shelby Hayne

Scripps Senior Theses

Mental health treatment in state prisons is revealed to be highly variable, under-funded, and systematically inadequate. Existing literature exposes this injustice but fails to provide a comprehensive proposal for reform. This paper attempts to fill that gap, outlining a cost-effective, evidence-based treatment proposal, directly addressing the deficits in care revealed through analysis of our current system. In addition, this paper provides historical overviews of the prison system and mental health treatment, utilizing theoretical perspectives to contextualize this proposal in the present state of affairs. Lastly, the evidence is provided to emphasize the potential economic and social benefits of improving mental …

Does Having A Bad Boss Make You More Likely To Be One Yourself?, Shannon G. Taylor, Robert Folger, Abhijeet K. Vadera, Matthew D. Griffith, Chaim R. Letwin

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Toxic bosses harm employees in countless ways — for instance, by lowering morale, diminishing well-being, and increasing work-family conflict. Estimates suggest abusive supervision costs organizations millions in lost productivity, employee turnover, and litigation each year. Although prior research has found that leader behaviors can “trickle down” to affect the actions of employees at lower organizational levels, surely not all abused supervisors abuse their own subordinates. So when do supervisors perpetuate abuse in organizations, when don’t they, and why?

Gauging Human Performance With An Automated Aid In Low Prevalence Conditions, Cara M. Zinn

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When receiving assistance from an automated aid, human operators do not necessarily perform better than without the automated aid. The current work explored the impact of integrating the automated aid with the task information in low prevalence conditions. Specifically, this work compares displays where the automated aid was integrated with task information in general or with more meaningful task information. Subjects performed a speeded judgment task with the assistance of an automated aid, varying in display type, difficulty, and prevalence. Results indicated that there was no effect of display type or prevalence on human temporal performance, and that the effect …

The Development Of A Lexicon For The Communication Of Action In Cooperative Work, Claire Supriya Shah

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This research expands upon the research conducted by Clark and Wilkes-Gibbs (1986) on how individuals collaborate and reach common ground in the domain of objects into the domain of action. Pairs of participants (N = 22) were asked to complete a set of six maneuvers with a remote-control car. Dialogue was transcribed and analyzed for total word count, verb phrase count, number of turns taken, number of errors committed, and selected other linguistic characteristics. Total word count, verb phrase count, number of turns taken, and number of errors committed all significantly decreased over time, either linearly or logarithmically. This research …

Antecedents Of Voice: The Moderating Role Of Proactive Personality, Alice Pyclik

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When employees are dissatisfied, they can choose a destructive solution such as quitting, or they can use voice to effect organizational change. A sample of 277 full-time employees in the United States responded to an online survey of voice, ethical leadership, core self-evaluation, proactive personality, affective commitment, and several control variables. Results from simple, multiple, and hierarchical regression analyses indicated that ethical leadership, core self-evaluation, and proactive personality have positive relationships with voice. In addition, ethical leadership facilitates voice through the path of affective commitment. Proactive personality compensates for low levels of affective commitment. Thus, managers can increase voice among …

The Relationship Between Mindfulness And Leadership: How Mindfulness Practices Affect Leadership Practices, James Van Auken

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The aim of this study was to explore and understand the relationship between mindfulness practices and actual leadership practices. This qualitative study utilized narrative inquiry with phenomenological interviewing techniques to explore selective leaders who use mindfulness practices, and see how they used mindfulness in their leadership practice. Sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted and thematic analysis was utilized. Eleven themes were identified with multiple sub- and sub-sub-themes, including: “Personal, Internal Mindfulness Practice,” “Being Mindful Toward Self,” “Being Present with Others,” “Being Present with a Group,” “Mindful Shift of Focus/Attention,” “Emotional Intelligence,” “Buffering of Reactivity,” “Resilience and Recovery,” “Alignment,” “Improved Job Performance,” …

Servant Leadership Characteristics And Empathic Care: Developing A Culture Of Empathy In The Healthcare Setting, Mark Anthony Martin

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the degree to which servant leadership characteristics are exhibited in medical group practices, and the degree to which servant leadership characteristics correlated with measures of empathic care. This study featured an explanatory mixed methods research design embedded in appreciative inquiry. A total of 189 mid-level practitioners consisting of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and practice mangers responded to a 32-item scale survey that featured a six-point Likert scale to measure servant leadership items and a 10-point continuous scale to assess measures of empathic care. The servant leadership items were based on the seven …

Mere Thought And Self-Monitoring: Individual Differences In Hiring Decisions, Robert Gargrave

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We believe that mere thought and self-monitoring may play a role in the thought processes that underscore hiring. We hypothesized that more thought would lead to a greater degree of attitude polarization and that this relationship will be mediated by belief confidence and belief consistency. We hypothesized that normative information would moderate the effects of thought on polarization for high self-monitors. We predicted that belief confidence and belief consistency would mediate the effect of thought on polarization for low self-monitors. To research these hypotheses, 163 undergraduates were surveyed. Participants were asked to rate potential candidates for a salesperson job. They …

Leadership Skills, Promoting Flow And Generating Profit: A Study Of Millennial Managers Through Gamification, Junior Badibanga

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An increased number or organizations are shifting away from traditional hierarchical, command and control business strategies which focus solely on generating profit to focusing on both people and profit. In this study, Csíkszentmihályi’s flow state (1975/2000) is considered to correspond with the people side of the social enterprise model, where organizations focus on both people and profit. Csíkszentmihályi (1990) describes the flow experience as a mental state which occurs when a person is motivated and fully immersed in an activity, resulting in feelings of energized focus and profound enjoyment. The current study analyzed secondary data from 1,184 millennial managers that …

Who Is Better And Who Is Best? What Differentiates Stars From The Rest, Montana R. Woolley

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Star employees have significant influences on the successes or failures of organizations. Current research on stars has not addressed who a star is or how stars are different from other good employees. In this study I tested the efficacy of a proposed definition of star employees and verified the accuracy of other previously established characteristics and behaviors associated with stars. In addition, I qualitatively explored managers’ perceptions of star employees. The study consisted of two separate samples: managers identified on MTurk (n = 40) and high-level executives from various industries (n = 46). Participants provided a series of open responses …

Impact Of Spatial Variability And Masker Fringe On The Detectability Of A Brief Signal, Michelle H. Wang

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The effect of masker spatial variability and masker fringe on the perception of a brief tone in noise was investigated in a detection task. Simpson (2011) found large effects of spatial variability (randomizing masker locations from trial to trial) in a masked localization experiment, as well as two effects of masker fringe (masking noise before the onset of the target): 1) cuing the masker location (spatial cuing effect) and 2) temporally separating the onset of the masker and the onset of the target (onset effect). In contrast, in detection studies, the effects of masker spatial variability are small (e.g., Bernstein …

Using Eeg To Examine The Top Down Effects On Visual Object Processing, Joseph D. Borders

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Object recognition entails a complex interplay between top-down and bottom-up signals. Yet, limited research has investigated the mechanisms through which top-down processes, such as task context and behavioral goals impact the neural basis of visual object processing. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we studied the temporal dynamics of task and object processing to identify how early the impact of task can be observed. We recorded ERPs from participants as they viewed object images from four categories spanning animacy (Inanimate: roller-skate, motorbike; Animate: cow, butterfly) and size (Large: motorbike, cow; Small: roller-skate, butterfly) dimensions under four task conditions comprising conceptual (naturalness, size) and …

Creating A Well-Situated Human-Autonomy Team: The Effects Of Team Structure, Elizabeth Marie Frost

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Intelligent agent technologies are increasing the potential capacity for systems to behave more autonomously and are enabling more advanced human-autonomy teaming. For instance, future applications of human-autonomy teaming for the command and control of unmanned vehicles are now under consideration. This would involve a shift from a supervisory control approach to a teaming structure. These two approaches, instantiated as the task division and relationship between a human operator and a teammate, were empirically examined. The team’s composition, either human-human or human-autonomy, was also considered. A control station that supports single operator management of multiple simulated unmanned vehicles performing a base …

Stop What You’Re Doing, Right Now! Effects Of Interactive Messages On Careless Responding, Anthony Gibson

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Careless responding (CR) can negatively affect the quality of self-report data and thus the resulting conclusions researchers draw from the data. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether interactive warnings, which alert careless respondents in real time, reduce CR more than traditional, non-interactive warnings. I used a 4 x 4 mixed factorial design to examine these relationships. The between group factor was the type of warning used, which consisted of four levels (i.e., a control, no warning group, a traditional, non-interactive warning, an interactive threatening warning message, and an interactive encouraging message), and the within person factor …

A Situational Judgment Test Of Self-Control And Its Relationship To Academic Performance: Development Of A New Measure, Michael Brady

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Personality has been extensively researched but the literature has not lived up to its potential for application. Personality variables such as self-control can identify qualified applicants, while minimizing adverse impact. I designed two SJT measure of self-control. The first SJT was hypothesized to predict college grade point average. The second SJT was hypothesized to predict counterproductive work behavior. I administered the first SJT to 676 undergraduates. I administered the second SJT to 608 employed people. Most hypotheses were fully supported. Both SJTs had incremental validity over and above self-report personality measures. The results demonstrate the potential of SJTs to measure …

Prevalence Visual Search: Optimal Performance And The Description-Experience Gap, Hanshu Zhang

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Real-world visual search differs significantly from the laboratory task. One distinct feature is that most targets in real-world visual search are low prevalence. Considering the important practical connections between the laboratory study and applied research, there has been a resurgence in exploring prevalence effects on visual search performance, especially the effect that targets are more likely to be missed when they have low prevalence. Though there is a consensus that target misses are due to a liberal criterion, previous studies failed to consider the potentiality of optimal performance from the perspective of Signal Detection Theory, which also predicts a the …