Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

You’Ve Got Mail: Examination Of A Brief Online Email Training, Jake R. Mathwich, Keaton A. Fletcher, Wendy L. Bedwell

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

Many companies train employees on writing emails in seminar-style training sessions. However, in-person, seminar-style trainings are costly. This study aims to create a training program, rooted in the science of training to address these needs. We examine the mechanisms of action by which the training influences performance and intent to transfer. To do this, we call upon several models of training effectiveness (see Alliger, Tannenbaum, Bennett, & Traver, 1997; Baldwin & Ford, 1988; and Kirkpatrick, 1959). Taken together, these models suggest that individual differences will predict affective reactions, which will lead to utility reactions, ultimately leading to learning. We aim …

Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade Level Re-Examined: Creating A Uniform Method For Calculating Readability On A Certification Exam, Emily Neuhoff, Kristiana M. Feeser, Kayla Sutherland, Thomas Hovatter

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

Abstract

Objective: This study attempted to establish a consistent measurement technique of the readability of a state-wide Certified Nursing Assistant’s (CNA) certification exam. Background: Monitoring the readability level of an exam helps ensure all test versions do not exceed the maximum reading level of the exam, and that knowledge of the subject matter, rather than reading ability, is being assessed. Method: A two part approach was used to specify and evaluate readability. First, two methods (Microsoft Word^® (MSW) software and published readability formulae) were used to calculate Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) and Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade Level (FKRGL) for multiple …

Airline Marketing Preferences, Kylie Johnson, Deborah Carstens Ph.D., Stephen Rice Ph.D.

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

The aim of this research is to assess airline marketing strategies providing consumer preferences to better target potential customers. The airline industry has transformed over the years, and cost and amenities have been impacted in the airline evolution. There has been consideration of whether flight cost, or flight amenities and passenger experience should be analyzed to result in enhanced marketing in the airline industry. An online survey was issued to examine which flight amenities potential customers preferred. Furthermore, the length of the flight was examined to determine if consumer preferences changed for domestic versus international flights. The survey findings are …

Christian Nonprofit Ceos:Ethical Idealism, Relativism, And Motivation, Sharlene Garces Baragona

Dissertations

Strong ethical character and the ability to inspire others form crucial areas for leadership effectiveness, particularly in nonprofits. This study explored the relationship between ethical ideologies (idealism and relativism) and inspirational motivation of Christian nonprofit CEOs affiliated with the Christian Child and Family Services Association. The Ethics Position Questionnaire of Forsyth (1980), the Bass and Avolio (2004) Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Leader Form (5X Short) – Inspirational Motivation, and a demographic questionnaire comprised the 30-item survey for this study. The participants’ responses were collected either online or on paper and were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. The response rate was …

Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Different Observation Methods And An Exploratory Analysis Of The Importance Of Accuracy Of Various Observations On Safety Performance, Marlies Hagge

Dissertations

Behavior Based Safety (BBS) applies various types of safety observation to improve occupational safety in business. The purpose of the following study was to examine and compare different observation foci: peer-observation, self-observation and a combination of both options as well as supervisor observations and observations of employee behavior obtained by research assistants (RA). Participants were unionized employees of the facilities management department at a Midwestern university. Target behaviors included safe lifting and vacuuming. The dependent variables were safety performance and the discrepancy between the different observation types. Incident data were also reported. The different observational methods were investigated via a …

Situational Judgment Tests: From Measures Of Situational Judgment To Measures Of General Domain Knowledge, Filip Lievens, Stephan J. Motowidlo

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Situational judgment tests (SJTs) are typically conceptualized as contextualized selection procedures that capture candidate responses to a set of relevant job situations as a basis for prediction. SJTs share their sample-based and contextualized approach with work samples and assessment center exercises, although they differ from these other simulations by presenting the situations in a low-fidelity (e.g., written) format. In addition, SJTs do not require candidates to respond through actual behavior because they capture candidates' situational judgment via a multiple-choice response format. Accordingly, SJTs have also been labeled low-fidelity simulations. This SJT paradigm has been very successful: In the last 2 …

Facilitating A Whole-Life Approach To Career Development: The Role Of Organizational Leadership, Michael L. Litano, Debra A. Major

Psychology Faculty Publications

This article focuses on the whole-life approach to career development. A review of the ways in which career paths have been conceptualized over time demonstrates that increasing consideration has been given to nonwork factors (i.e., personal life and family life) in defining careers. The whole-life perspective on career development acknowledges that employees are striving for opportunities for professional development as well as individualized work-life balance, which changes over the life course. Although the careers literature has emphasized interorganizational mobility as the primary mechanism for achieving these goals, whole-life career development can also be achieved within a single organization when organizational …

911,What's My Emergency? Emotional Labor, Work-Related Rumination, And Strain Outcomes In Emergency Medical Dispatchers, Jessica Lee Deselms

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The work of Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs) is filled with a variety of stressors, and one of those being emotional labor. Despite research on emotional labor, few studies have quantitatively examined this construct within EMDs. Compared to the plethora of emotional labor literature that focuses on the display of positive emotions, EMDs are required to suppress or neutralize any negative reactions they may experience. Hence, this study was concerned with the further examination of emotional labor, physical health outcomes, burnout, and job satisfaction in a unique population. Additionally, the construct of work-related rumination is in its infancy. It can be …

Examination Of The Antecedents, Reactions, And Outcomes To A Major Technology-Driven Organizational Change, Ngoc Dinh Nguyen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The goal of this study was to test a multi-level model of organizational change that examined how various antecedents, employee reactions, and organizational and personal outcomes relate to one another. The research was conducted via online surveys and as a longitudinal study. Participants were employees at a large supply distribution company, and were a part of the Pilot implementation of a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Results from the study revealed that job stress was closely related to organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and psychological well-being, while change commitment was associated with higher organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Positive training …

Contemplating Mindfulness At Work: An Integrative Review, Darren J. Good, Christopher Lyddy, Theresa M. Glomb, Joyce E. Bono, Kirk W. Brown, Michelle K. Duffy, Ruth A. Baer, Judson A. Brewer, Sara W. Lazar

School of Business Faculty Publications

Mindfulness research activity is surging within organizational science. Emerging evidence across multiple fields suggests that mindfulness is fundamentally connected to many aspects of workplace functioning, but this knowledge base has not been systematically integrated to date. This review coalesces the burgeoning body of mindfulness scholarship into a framework to guide mainstream management research investigating a broad range of constructs. The framework identifies how mindfulness influences attention, with downstream effects on functional domains of cognition, emotion, behavior, and physiology. Ultimately, these domains impact key workplace outcomes, including performance, relationships, and well-being. Consideration of the evidence on mindfulness at work stimulates important …

Transformational Leadership In The World Of Sales, Dalton R. Barnes

CMC Senior Theses

It takes a very specific type of person to be successful in sales; this makes recruiting and retaining effective employees a difficult task for companies in this field. Because finding and training these people is such a challenging task, it is in the best interest of companies to invest in training and developing their employees to be successful and avoid burning out. Bass and Riggio (2006) would note that in a field with such a high burnout rate, a transformational sales leader is important because they are generally able to build stronger follower loyalty, commitment, and satisfaction than their non-transformational …

Assessing The Effect Of Personality Characteristics Of Minnesota Golfers On The Brand Equity Of Golf Drivers, Eric Schinella

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Although many researchers have focused on the attributes of a product that affect brand equity, this study focuses on the attributes of the consumer that affect brand equity. More specifically, the current study examines how a variety of golfer personality characteristics affect the equity they assign to various brands of golf equipment. The results of the survey showed that as golfers are more skilled, they are willing to pay a higher premium for their preferred driver. This may be because golfers who are more skilled tend to take the sport more seriously and will probably have no problem spending more …

Why Do Some Employees Readjust To Their Home Organizations Better Than Others? Job Demands-Resources Model Of Repatriation Adjustment, Yukiko Yamasaki

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The present study applied the Demands-Resources Model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007) to investigate factors related to repatriate adjustment. Specifically, this study proposed three organizational factors (role ambiguity, lack of work autonomy, and absence of pre-training) as job demands, which would inhibit adjustment of repatriates. The second part of this study identified three personal characteristics (openness, cultural intelligence, and proactivity) as job resources and examined whether these characteristics would minimize the negative effects of the job demands on repatriate adjustment. Repatriate adjustment was assessed as expatriate adjustment (Black & Stephens, 1989), job stress (Lambert, Hogan, & Griffin, 2007), job satisfaction (Warr, …

The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective: An Ongoing Experiment In Musical Self-Governance, Julian D. Bryson

Theses and Dissertations--Music

C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective and Triad: Boston’s Choral Collective are the first choirs to explore collectivity as a method of ensemble organization. While more traditional ensembles have a single artistic director, C4 and Triad share and rotate leadership responsibilities among the full membership. Artistic and logistical decisions develop through conversation, consensus, and/or voting.

This monograph draws primarily on interviews with thirteen current and former members of the two ensembles as well as the author’s personal experiences with Triad’s inaugural concert cycle to present a narrative description of member characteristics, governance, and operational processes. Interview responses are compared to relevant …

Differences Between Multimedia And Text-Based Assessments Of Emotion Management: An Exploration With The Multimedia Emotion Management Assessment (Mema), Carolyn Maccann, Filip Lievens, Nele Libbrecht, Richard D. Roberts

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

People process emotional information using visual, vocal, and verbal cues. However, emotion management is typically assessed with text based rather than multimedia stimuli. This study (N=427) presents the new multimedia emotion management assessment (MEMA) and compares it to the text-based assessment of emotion management used in the MSCEIT. The text-based and multimedia assessment showed similar levels of cognitive saturation and similar prediction of relevant criteria. Results demonstrate that the MEMA scores have equivalent evidence of validity to the text-based MSCEIT test scores, demonstrating that multimedia assessment of emotion management is viable. Furthermore, our results inform the debate as to whether …

Perceived Emotional Demands-Abilities Fit, James M. Diefendorff, Gary J. Greguras, John Fleenor

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The purposes of this paper are to introduce the concept of perceived emotional demands-abilities (ED-A) fit and develop theory about how it relates to other fit perceptions as well as employee well-being and performance outcomes. ED-A fit is defined as the perceived congruence or match between the emotional demands of the job and one's abilities to meet those demands. In two studies using occupationally diverse samples from Western and Eastern cultures, we empirically distinguished perceived ED-A fit from other fit perceptions (i.e. person-organisation, demands-abilities, needs-supplies, person-group, person-supervisor). In addition, across the two studies, we found that perceived ED-A fit accounted …

Influencing Behavior During Planned Culture Change: A Participatory Action Research Case Study, Michael Valentine

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The study was conducted in a global, for-profit, advertising firm, which initiated a culture change effort focused culture change.The objective of the effort was to manage the negative impact of implicit bias (IB) in the workplace.This type of bias is known to influence behaviors and judgements (Amodio & Mendoza, 2010).It is hypothesized that if employees shift behavior to better understand and manage these biases in the basic work activities that are typical in any organization—like working on a team, making decisions related hiring, developing and promoting talent, and the numerous creative decisions that are typical of designing advertising campaigns—more inclusive …

Correcting Misconceptions About Gamification Of Assessment: More Than Sjts And Badges, Michael B. Armstrong, Jared Z. Ferrell, Andrew B. Collmus, Richard N. Landers

Psychology Faculty Publications

Describing the current state of gamification, Chamorro-Premuzic, Winsborough, Sherman, and Hogan () provide a troubling contradiction: They offer examples of a broad spectrum of gamification interventions, but they then summarize the entirety of gamification as “the digital equivalent of situational judgment tests.” This mischaracterization grossly oversimplifies a rapidly growing area of research and practice both within and outside of industrial–organizational (I-O) psychology. We agree that situational judgment tests (SJTs) can be considered a type of gamified assessment, and gamification provides a toolkit to make SJTs even more gameful. However, the term gamification refers to a much broader and potentially more …

The Development Of The Creative Synergy Scale, Amy E. Climer

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study developed a scale for teams to assess their behaviors related to creative synergy. Creative synergy is the interactions among team members where the collective creative results are greater than the sum of their individual efforts. When a team achieves creative synergy they have the potential to solve difficult problems with innovative solutions leading to positive impacts on our communities, societies, and even our world. This study looked at the internal-process variables of teams to determine what factors impact creative synergy. The research process involved two phases.In Phase 1, a survey was taken by 830 adults who were members …

Using Technology To Improve The Interview As A Selection Tool, Brad A. Chambers, John D. Arnold

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Using the extant literature on best practices in the selection interview, this paper describes a technology-based selection interview system. The process includes interviewer training and certification, and the construction of standardized interview guides. Linked to a common set of human abilities and skills, answers to the questions and probes are evaluated using behaviorally anchored rating scales for each of a number of competency elements. The process described can be used to help ensure quality interviewing practices following these principles are used in organizations conducting multiple interviewers at different sites. How to use this process to address various research objectives is …

Assessment Of Personality Through Behavioral Observations In Work Simulations, Andrew B. Speer, Neil Christiansen, Christopher Honts

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

This study outlines the development of a rating scale designed to measure personality-related behavior in the context of work simulations. The tool, labeled the Work Simulation Personality Rating Scale (WSPRS), was validated in an assessment center by rating the personality of 123 assessment center participants. Scores from the WSPRS were correlated with corresponding traits from a self-reported personality inventory, and a Trait Activation Potential (TAP) framework was adopted to predict which traits would display best convergence based on assessment center observations. Correlations between the WSPRS dimensions and self-report trait scales ranged from .11 (Neuroticism) to .31 (Extraversion), with the rank-order …

Identifying The Strongest Or The Weakest Link: Effects On Subsequent Ratings, William S. Weyhrauch, Satoris S. Culbertson

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

The current study investigated the effect of a negative designation performance rating purpose in contrast to a positive designation purpose or a deservedness purpose on a) the ability of raters to differentiate amongst ratees at a later time and b) raters' tendencies to provide subsequently more severe or lenient ratings. Results from a laboratory study involving 102 participants indicated that positive designations tend to result in subsequently lenient ratings, while negative designations result in severe ratings. However, the nature of a rater’s previous decision had no discernable effect on the ability to differentiate levels of performance. Implications of these findings …

The Interactive Influence Of Ambition And Sociability On Performance In A Behavior Description Interview, Allen I. Huffcutt, Satoris S. Culbertson, Allen P. Goebl

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

The purpose of this study was to present and empirically test the potential influence on ratings in a behavior description interview (BDI) of the personality traits ambition and sociability, two facets of extraversion. Results suggest a relatively strong role for ambition in the administration and outcomes of BDIs in organizational selection, particularly when its interaction with sociability is taken into consideration. In a sample of 85 participants working in entry-level positions, the correlation with BDI ratings was .22 for ambition alone, which increased to .44 when sociability and its interaction with ambition were added. Adding sociability by itself to ambition …

The Validity Of Individual Psychological Assessments For Entry-Level Police And Firefighter Positions, Ilianna H. Kwaske, Scott B. Morris

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Although individual psychological assessment is widely used in employee selection, the empirical research on the validity of individual assessments is sparse. A multi-stage, multi-site study examined the validity of individual assessments for police officer and firefighter positions. Results showed that assessor judgments were largely unrelated to standardized test results, and that both assessor judgments and standardized tests were only weakly related to job performance ratings. Differences in validity across assessors were also found, with some assessors providing better predictions than others.

Cloud-Based Meta-Analysis To Bridge Science And Practice: Welcome To Metabus, Frank A. Bosco, Piers Steel, Frederick L. Oswald, Krista Uggerslev, James G. Field

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Although volumes have been written on spanning the science-practice gap in applied psychology, surprisingly few tangible components of that bridge have actually been constructed. We describe the metaBUS platform that addresses three challenges of one gap contributor: information overload. In particular, we describe challenges stemming from: (1) lack of access to research findings, (2) lack of an organizing map of topics studied, and (3) lack of interpretation guidelines for research findings. For each challenge, we show how metaBUS, which provides an advanced search and synthesis engine of currently more than 780,000 findings from 9,000 studies, can provide the building blocks …

Editorial: Why A New Journal?, Scott Edward Highhouse

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

No abstract provided.

The Development Of Job-Based Psychological Ownership, Robert B. Bullock

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Psychological ownership has come to light as an important state with strong implications on employee attitudes and behaviors. However, relatively little attention has been paid towards the process by which employees come to develop feelings of psychological ownership towards their work, particularly regarding the role played by individual traits in this process. Ownership theorists claim that personality and disposition should matter (Mayhew, Ashkanasy, Bramble, & Gardner, 2007; Pierce & Jussila, 2011), yet these claims remain largely untested.

The purpose of the current investigation is to address these gaps by exploring how employee disposition and job design contribute to the development …

The Brief Aggression Questionnaire: Reliability, Validity, And Structure, Gregory D. Webster, C. Nathan Dewall, Richard S. Pond, Timothy Deckman, Peter K. Jonason, Bonnie M. Le, Austin Lee Nichols, Tatiana Orozco Schember, Laura C. Crysel, Benjamin S. Crosier, C. Veronica Smith, Elizabeth Layne Paddock

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In contexts that increasingly demand brief self-report measures (e.g., experience sampling, longitudinal and field studies), researchers seek succinct surveys that maintain reliability and validity. One such measure is the 12-item Brief Aggression Questionnaire (BAQ; Webster et al., 2014), which uses 4 3-item subscales: Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Anger, and Hostility. Although prior work suggests the BAQ's scores are reliable and valid, we addressed some lingering concerns. Across 3 studies (N = 1,279), we found that the BAQ had a 4-factor structure, possessed long-term test–retest reliability across 12 weeks, predicted differences in behavioral aggression over time in a laboratory experiment, …

Employee Behavioral Intention And Technology Use: Mediating Processes And Individual Difference Moderators, Robert Conrad Brusso

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Considering the substantial amount of time and organizational resources that are involved in the development and implementation of end-user technology (e.g., communication software platforms, social networking sites) within organizations, it is imperative to understand the factors that best predict use of end-user software. Although technology acceptance models, grounded in broader theories of behavior, do exist, these models fall-short in determining the most proximal antecedents of actual behavior. Currently, the majority of the research in the information technology arena posits behavioral intention as the most proximal antecedent of technology use. Behavioral intention does explain variance in use, but this relationship has …

An Evaluation Of Game Fiction-Enhanced Training: Using Narrative To Improve Trainee Reactions And Learning, Michael Beaumont Armstrong

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Gamification is growing in popularity in instructional contexts like education and workplace training, but it is unclear which game elements are specifically conducive to improve learning outcomes. Narratives, which represent one way the game element “game fiction” is commonly implemented, have been used to improve learning outcomes over expository texts in the context of psycholinguistics, whereas the Technology-Enhanced Training Effectiveness Model (TETEM) proposes that certain individual differences impact the relationships between technology-enhanced training and learning outcomes. From this theoretical basis, this study gamified a training session with game fiction in order to improve reactions to training and learning over the …