Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

Content Of Qualitative Feedback Provided During Structured, Confidential Reference Checks, Cynthia A. Hedricks, Disha Rupayana, Leigh Puchalski, Chet Robie

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

The present study used text analytics software to examine the unstructured (or qualitative) data provided by job references during confidential, multi-rater reference checks. With respect to both work-related strengths and areas of improvement, job references more frequently provided words or short phrases relating to “soft skills” such as working with others and communication as opposed to “hard skills” such as computer programming or mathematics. While some commonalities across jobs were found to exist, the frequency of identified categories for both work-related strengths and areas of improvement did differ across jobs.

Investigating Three Approaches Of Using Personality To Predict Competency-Based Performance, Blaine Gaddis, Brandon Ferrell

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Organizations often use competencies to drive human capital initiatives such as recruitment, selection, training, and promotion. To serve such organizations, practitioners now offer various competency-based research solutions incorporating personality assessments to predict these competencies. Each approach begins by mapping competencies from an organization’s model to scientific models backed by synthetic and content validity evidence to align personality dimensions with each competency. This helps determine which personality dimensions drive performance for each competency. In this paper, we compare scale-based profiles, subscale-based algorithms, and scale-based algorithms to investigate the consistency of scores across methods and how effective each method is in predicting …

Critical Analytic Thinking Skills: Do They Predict Job-Related Task Performance Above And Beyond General Intelligence?, Sara Beth Elson, Robert Hartman, Adam Beatty, Matthew Trippe, Kerry Buckley, John Bornmann, Elaine Bochniewicz, Mark Lehner, Liliya Korenovska, Jessica Lee, Les Servi, Alison Dingwall, Paul E. Lehner, Maurita Soltis, Mark Brown, Brandon Beltz, Amber Sprenger

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Employers and government leaders have called attention to the need for critical thinking skills in the workforce, while business trends toward evidence-based decision making also highlight the increasing importance of the critical thinking skill set. Although studies have examined the relationship of critical thinking to behaviors or job performance, many have missed a key component: incremental predictive validity of critical thinking beyond cognitive ability. The current study defines critical thinking, presents results from a test development effort in which the conceptual definition was operationalized as a measure of critical analytical thinking skills for government analysts, and presents results of a …

Creating Test Score Bands For Assessments Involving Ratings Using A Generalizability Theory Approach To Reliability Estimation, Charles Scherbaum, Marcus Dickson, Elliott Larson, Brian Bellenger, Kenneth Yusko, Harold Goldstein

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

The selection of a method for estimating the reliability of ratings has considerable implications for the use of assessments in personnel selection. In particular, the accuracy of corrections to validity coefficients for unreliability and test score bands are completely dependent on the correct estimation of the reliability. In this paper, we discuss how generalizability theory can be used to estimate reliability for test score bands with assessments involving ratings. Using selection data from a municipal entity, we demonstrate the use of generalizability theory-based compare the implications of its use in test score banding compared to the traditional approach.

Justice Perceptions Of Team Disciplinary Actions In The Workplace, Austin Lee Rettke

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This scenario study examined fairness perceptions of rule violations and punishment in an organizational team setting. Participants read one of 16 scenarios in which an integral team member violates an organizational rule and subsequently is punished. Participants then answered 12 items assessing perceptions of fairness for the punished employee and for the non-punished team members, and the likelihood the punishment will deter future misconduct for the punished employee and for the teammates. This study examined two levels of misconduct severity (moderate and severe), two levels of punishment severity (moderate and severe), two types of punishment distribution (consistent and conditional), and …

Improve Organizational Commitment By Leading Like A Therapist, Anna A. Gibson

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The 21st-century workplace underemphasizes the importance of relational leadership, at the expense of the bottom line. Although there is a plethora of both popular and academic literature on the importance of good leadership in the workplace, relational leadership techniques have been misunderstood and underutilized. Dynamic psychology theories that emphasize the importance of relationships—such as self psychology—can be used to produce organizational results.

How A Conducive Environment And Susceptible Followers Influence Toxic Leadership Behaviors In The Air Force: An Examination Of The Toxic Triangle Theory, Rachel S. Beightel

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to determine what characteristics of the Air Force’s environment and Airmen perpetuate toxic leadership behaviors. This survey study was designed, using the toxic triangle theory, to evaluate the toxic leadership behaviors, susceptible follower traits, and conducive environment characteristics participants have experienced in the Air Force. The study applied ordinary least squares path analysis to determine the influence susceptible followers and characteristics of a conducive environment have on toxic leadership behaviors in the Air Force. Results revealed that collusive followers have a direct influence on toxic leadership. While only two characteristics of a conducive environment …

Perceived Entitlement Causes Discrimination Against Attractive Job Candidates In The Domain Of Relatively Less Desirable Jobs, Margaret Lee, Marko Pitesa, Madan M. Pillutla, Stefan Thau

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

People generally hold positive stereotypes of physically attractive people and because of those stereotypes often treat them more favorably. However, we propose that some beliefs about attractive people, specifically, the perception that attractive individuals have a greater sense of entitlement than less attractive individuals, can result in negative treatment of attractive people. We examine this in the context of job selection and propose that for relatively less desirable jobs, attractive candidates will be discriminated against. We argue that the ascribed sense of entitlement to good outcomes leads to perceptions that attractive individuals are more likely to be dissatisfied working in …

Unlocking The Potential In Your Workforce Data, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Communicating complex ideas to diverse stakeholders is central to reliable decision making. Stakeholders may vary greatly in their interest, familiarity, or expertise with data regarding a policy, program, or practice. Well-designed data visualizations provide a platform for engaging stakeholders in ways that are tailored to their interest, familiarity, and expertise. However, research indicates that visualizations are not always designed effectively to reliably motivate users to understand and ultimately use the data in their decision-making (Evergreen, 2011; Cawthon & Moere, 2007). Thoughtful and engaging visualizations demand the stakeholders’ attention and can facilitate the comprehension of findings (Hillstrom & Yantis, 1994; Treisman, …

Finding Meaning At Work: The Role Of Inspiring And Funny Youtube Videos On Work-Related Well-Being, Sophie Janicke-Bowles, Diana Rieger, Winston Connor Iii

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Watching online videos on social media is a common activity in today’s digital age, but its’ impact on employee well-being at work has not been investigated yet. The current study tried to fill this gap by investigating the role hedonic and eudaimonic online videos play on employee’s stress levels and well-being at work. An online experiment with 200 full time employees in the US was conducted exploring the role of inspiring affect and positive affect on three distinct well-being outcomes: subjective well-being, psychological well-being and social well-being at the workplace. A path model suggests unique effects for inspiring videos on …

Optimizing The Validity Of Situational Judgment Tests: The Importance Of Scoring Methods, Qingxiong Weng, Hui Yang, Filip Lievens, Michael A. Mcdaniel

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In recent years, situational judgment tests (SJTs) have made strong inroads in assessment practices. Despite the importance of scoring for the validity of SJTs, little attention has been paid to different SJT scoring methods. This study investigated the influence of scoring methods on the criterion-related validity of SJTs. We examined five different consensus scoring methods (i.e., raw, standardized, dichotomous, mode, and proportion scoring) and several integrated scoring methods for scoring the same SJT. Results showed that one of the most popular scoring approaches (raw consensus scoring) is associated with an extreme response tendency and yields the lowest scale validity of …

Employer Branding: A Brand Equity-Based Literature Review And Research Agenda, Christian P. Theurer, Andranik Tumasjan, Isabell M. Welpe, Filip Lievens

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Over the past two decades, scholarly interest in employer branding has strongly increased. Simultaneously, however, employer branding research has developed into a fragmented field with heterogeneous interpretations of the employer branding concept and its scope, which has impeded further theoretical and empirical advancement. To strengthen the foundation for future work, this paper takes a brand equity perspective to review the extant literature and create an integrative model of employer branding. Using an analytical approach, the authors identify 187 articles, which they integrate along different employer brand dimensions and branding strategies: (i) conceptual; (ii) employer knowledge dimensions; (iii) employer branding activities …

Gender Differences In Development Center Performance In A Healthcare Organization, Samuel Lawson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Over the past 50 years, the assessment center has evolved into a tool used for making selection and job placement decisions, as well as for identifying development areas among incumbents to promote skill and competency development where gaps exist. The present study examined the latter, that of development centers, to address potential gender differences in performance on a variety of exercise and competency areas within a development center context. Research efforts were also directed toward the exercises and competencies themselves and the relationships between them. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate exercise-competency relationships, while t-tests were conducted to investigate …

Zero Textbook Cost Syllabus For Psy 4185 (Psychology Of Training And Development), Michael Covell

Open Educational Resources

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of training and development as a tool for improving organizational performance. Topics include (a) understanding the components of a needs analysis; (b) designing training programs to capitalize on our current understanding of how adults learn; (c) understanding training and development within the context of the modern workplace; and (d) understanding how to evaluate the utility of training and development interventions.

Promoting Harmonious Work Passion Among Unmotivated Employees: A Two-Nation Investigation Of The Compensatory Function Of Cooperative Psychological Climate, Violet T. Ho, Dejun Tony Kong, Chay-Hoon Lee, Phillippe Dubreuil, Jacques Forest

Management Faculty Publications

This research draws on self-determination theory to investigate (a) the role of cooperative psychological climate in promoting harmonious work passion among employees with low intrinsic motivation; and (b) the mediating role of harmonious passion in linking cooperative psychological climate to behavioral outcomes. We propose that cooperative psychological climate facilitates harmonious passion and, in particular, plays a compensatory role among employees with low intrinsic motivation. In turn, harmonious passion is expected to facilitate both task performance and interpersonal helping, thereby linking cooperative psychological climate to these employee behaviors. We test the model using data from employees and their supervisors across two …

Bossy, Abrasive And A Bit Too Aggressive : The Unique Double Bind Of Agentic Women In The Workplace, Lindsay Ciancetta

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Women who violate the female gender role norm of communality by acting agentically have been found to experience social repercussions, such as decreased likability (Eagly & Wood, 2012). This phenomenon has been defined as the backlash effect (Rudman, 1998). The current work draws upon this idea and expands the area to a qualitative criterion, specifically written performance appraisals, and explores the relationship between the backlash effect and individual outcomes of perceived supervisor support, affective organizational commitment and turnover intentions. The results of a mixed qualitative and quantitative analysis of a sample of 400 written performance evaluations from two organizations provide …

A Study Of The Soft Skills That Contribute To The Success Of Newly Graduated Business Students In The Workplace, Promeet Jaswant Singh

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This quantitative study is focused on assessing the soft skills that newly graduated business students possess. Using the first and only skills inventory in the United States that has been endorsed by Department of Labor, the study seeks to determine what sets employees apart based on their level of performance on the job. The main purpose was to assess and interpret the soft skills that employees bring to the workplace soon after graduating. The population for the current study was human resources professionals from a variety of industry sectors in the state of Minnesota. The businesses represented a range of …

Disentangling Passion And Engagement: An Examination Of How And When Passionate Employees Become Engaged Ones, Violet T. Ho, Marina N. Astakhova

Management Faculty Publications

While anecdotal industry evidence indicates that passionate workers are engaged workers, research has yet to understand how and when job passion and engagement are related. To answer the how question, we draw from person-environment fit theory to test, and find support for, the mediating roles of perceived demands-abilities (D-A) fit and person-organization (P-O) fit in the relationships between passion and job engagement, and between passion and organizational engagement, respectively. Also, because the obsessive form of passion is contingency-driven, we answer the when question by adopting a target-similarity approach to test the contingent role of multi-foci trust in the obsessive passion-to-engagement …

Predicting Entrepreneurial Burnout In A Moderated Mediated Model Of Job Fit, Eva De Mol, Violet T. Ho, Jeffrey M. Pollack

Management Faculty Publications

We introduce, and empirically test, a model of entrepreneurial burnout that highlights the relationships among job fit, entrepreneurial passion, destiny beliefs, and burnout. Using a sample of 326 individuals involved in entrepreneurial jobs, we tested the link between job fit and two forms of passion—harmonious and obsessive—and the moderating role of entrepreneurs' destiny beliefs about work (i.e., the belief that a successful career is “meant to be”). Findings illustrated that their job fit perceptions were positively related to harmonious passion, which in turn negatively predicted burnout. Additionally, the relationship between job fit and obsessive passion was moderated by destiny beliefs, …

Chameleonic Obsessive Job Passion: Demystifying The Relationships Between Obsessive Job Passion And In-Role And Extra-Role Performance, Marina N. Astakhova, Violet T. Ho

Management Faculty Publications

In seeking to address the theoretical ambiguity regarding how and when obsessive job passion (OJP) leads to work performance, we integrate both self-verification and person–environment (P-E) fit perspectives to propose and test a moderated mediation model linking OJP to performance. We argue that OJP is indirectly related to co-worker-rated in-role and extra-role performance through self-verification, and these indirect links are conditioned by perceived demands–abilities (D-A) fit and needs–supplies (N-S) fit. Results from 190 healthcare professionals and their co-workers collected at three different time periods revealed the contrasting roles played by these two moderators. Individuals with higher OJP self-verify …

The Performance Implication Of Obsessive Work Passion: Unpacking The Moderating And Mediating Mechanisms From A Conservation Of Resources Perspective, Dejun Tony Kong, Violet T. Ho

Management Faculty Publications

Work passion is an important determinant of work performance. While harmonious work passion (HWP) shows its consistent predictive value, obsessive work passion (OWP) appears to have a mixed relationship with work performance. To address this puzzle, we integrate research on OWP and emotional exhaustion with conservation of resources (COR) theory. Specifically, we argue that OWP determines emotional exhaustion, whose relationship with work performance is attenuated by leader-member exchange (LMX). By conducting a field study with a sample of 262 U.S. employees, we found supportive evidence, even when controlling for psychological detachment from work. The findings somewhat reconcile the inconsistent results …

Self-Concept Orientation And Organizational Identification: A Mediated Relationship, Chun (Grace) Guo, Jane K. Miller, Melissa S. Woodard, Daniel Miller, Kirk D. Silvernail, Mehmet Devrim Aydin, Ana Heloisa Da Costa Lemos, Vilmante Kumpikaite, Sudhir Nair, Paul F. Donnelly, Robert D. Marx, Linda M. Peters

WCBT Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test a mediated model of the relationship between self-concept orientation (individualist and collectivist) and organizational identification (OrgID, Cooper and Thatcher, 2010), with proposed mediators including the need for organizational identification (nOID, Glynn, 1998) as well as self-presentation concerns of social adjustment (SA) and value expression (VE, Highhouse et al., 2007). Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 509 participants in seven countries. Direct and mediation effects were tested using structural equation modeling (AMOS 25.0). Findings: Individualist self-concept orientation was positively related to VE and collectivist self-concept orientation was positively related to nOID, VE and …

Senior Executives’ Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction And Psychological Well-Being: Is It Different At The Top?, Marcus B. Mueller, Geoff P. Lovell

WCBT Faculty Publications

Senior executives’ decisions can have a substantial impact on their own lives, their families, their organizations’ workers and employees, and society. This quantitative study (1) investigated the relationship between basic psychological need satisfaction (BPNS) at work and psychological well-being (PWB) in 142 senior executives as antecedent of their decision making and (2) compared the results to two other managerial level samples of 260 managers and 445 employees. The results have implications for theory and practice. Our findings contribute the new theoretical perspectives of differences in the relationship between BPNS at work and PWB by managerial level and senior executives’ gender …

Recovering From Workplace Offenses: Understanding The Roles Of Resilience And Forgiveness, Francisca Saldanha

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Workplace transgressions have been shown to have pervasive and detrimental consequences for employees and organizations. Given these negative consequences, past research has examined how managers and organizations can prevent transgressions from occurring in the first place (i.e., preventive approaches) and how transgressions can be fixed when they do eventually occur (i.e., remedial approaches). However, it is unlikely that transgressions can ever be fully eradicated from organizations and it is doubtful that providing remedies can fully redress the harm that was caused. Accordingly, it is important to complement the preventive and remedial approaches with a deeper understanding of how employees can …

Consuming Digital Debris In The Plasticene, Stephen R. Parks

Theses and Dissertations

Claims of customization and control by socio-technical industries are altering the role of consumer and producer. These narratives are often misleading attempts to engage consumers with new forms of technology. By addressing capitalist intent, material, and the reproduction limits of 3-D printed objects’, I observe the aspirational promise of becoming a producer of my own belongings through new networks of production. I am interested in gaining a better understanding of the data consumed that perpetuates hyper-consumptive tendencies for new technological apparatuses. My role as a designer focuses on the resolution of not only the surface of the object through 3-D …

A Multifaceted View Of Ceo Compensation And Performance: A Case Study, John Nirenberg

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

This case addresses CEO pay, a topic that annually stimulates the question of whether or not executive compensation is based on performance or something else and why it is so high in absolute terms. The societal impact of the new class of executives among the largest companies in the United States set apart from the rest of the world in a cocoon of wealth and privilege inflames resentment among workers, widens an already unfathomable distance between those at the top and the rest of us, and endangers the social amity among citizens of the polity . Positive social change might …

Exploring The Preparedness Of Novice (Student) Paramedics For The Mental Health Challenges Of The Paramedic Profession: Using The Wisdom Of The Elders, Lisa Holmes

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigates the preparedness of novice (student) paramedics for the mental health challenges of the paramedic profession and identifies the coping strategies used by veteran paramedics to successfully meet these challenges. The lived experience of veteran paramedics is utilised to provide this important assistance.

Initially, two surveys were developed and administered to 16 course coordinators and 302 students of the 16 accredited undergraduate degree paramedicine courses across Australia and New Zealand, to identify the perceived need (for preparation) within the curriculum. In addition, the anticipations, confidence and fears of novice (student) paramedics, course coordinators and veteran paramedics were also …

The Macroeconomic Environment And The Psychology Of Work Evaluation, Nina Sirola, Marko Pitesa

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This research tested the idea that the perception of the state of the macroeconomic environment impacts the psychology underlying an essential organizational function: The evaluation of employees’ work and the associated promotion and demotion decisions. We predicted that when the macroeconomic environment is perceived to be more (less) prosperous, people’s generalized sense of the extent to which individuals have control over outcomes increases (decreases), leading them to attribute more (less) responsibility for work outcomes to individuals rather than contextual influences. In Study 1, we tested this theory using data from 124,400 respondents surveyed across 57 countries and 19 years and …

From Play To Performance: Building An Effective Organization, Jessica N. Selee, Jade Johnson, Jocelyn N. Murray, Anna Samuelson, Jasmine Li, Andrew Lacanienta, Mat D. Duerden, Mark Widmer

Marriott Student Review

Under the Mentored Experience Grant, six students studies the impact that non-work activities (recreation or leisure) have on individual contributors or organization. Some employees refrain from participating in Leisure-at-Work (LAW) due to lack of time or skill, to cliques, to differing preferences, or fear of negative connotations. Employees report that LAW increases productivity, establishes and enriches social interactions, improves communication, attracts and retains employees in a company, and facilitates a culture of engagement, trust, and camaraderie. At the conclusion of our analysis, we identified areas of future research and recommendations for best practice.

The Search For Meaning Amid Tasks Galore And Race To Be First, David Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

For most, life is a busy pursuit.But it is good every now and then to take the time to reflect on why you dowhat you do.