Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

The Role Of Perceived Perpetrator Centrality In Intentions To Express Or Confront Sexist Behaviors, Anna G. Miller

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Confronting sexist acts (e.g., by saying, “That was sexist!”) has been empirically shown to reduce others’ sexist behaviors. However, bystanders are often reluctant to confront sexist acts, particularly when perpetrators of sexism are perceived as high in status. Prior studies have operationalized status in terms of organizational rank. However, individuals may also have status by virtue of their connections to other group members, which I investigate in the present study. Participants with full-time work experience (N = 451) were asked to read a vignette describing a sexist incident in which a male perpetrator of sexism had many (vs. few) …

Teacher–Student Relationship Quality As A Predictor Of Effective Classroom Leadership, Ty P. Rockwell

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

A teacher is the leader of their classroom. Strong teachers manage classroom climate, deliver engaging instruction, support students’ academic outcomes, and form lasting relationships with students. This study examined whether teacher–student relationship quality predicts student engagement, academic success, and subject interest, and whether classroom psychological safety and perceived teacher support help explain those links. Drawing on leader-member exchange (LMX) theory and educational psychology, the study treated teachers as classroom leaders and asked University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) undergraduates to recall either a positive or a negative experience with a high school core-course teacher. A total of 128 participants completed …

Soft Skills In The Workplace: A Comparative Analysis, Meg Rothfuss

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Soft skills are defined as any non-technical ability related to how you do your work. While hard skills are commonly thought of first when it comes to job responsibilities, soft skills are increasingly important to the success of any role. Soft skills can be broken into the broad categories of cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal skills. The goal of this study was to define the soft skill profiles of different industries and compare the similarities and differences across industries. To do this, an interview and survey were conducted including employees from a variety of industries. The interviews compared the IT and …

Keeping The Beat: A Case On The Effects Of Communication In Musical Teams During Performances, Shane Christie

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This case study examined whether the effects of positive team affect and team communication quality on the performance quality, or taskwork quality, of teams comprised of musicians, and if team communication quality could further improve the taskwork quality of a group of musicians. It was believed that participants with higher positive team affect scores would perform at a higher taskwork quality than those with lower positive team affect scores. In addition, it was believed that participants that engaged in higher-quality team communication during performances would strengthen this relationship, further increasing taskwork quality. The participants were divided into teams, and the …

Mental Representations Of Surface- And Deep-Level Diversity, Alexandria S. Vandenberg

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Conservatives exhibit backlash to surface-level diversity initiatives (e.g., race-based initiatives), but view deep-level diversity (e.g., ideological diversity) positively. I examined whether conservative preferences for deep- (vs. surface-level) diversity reflects preferences for different forms of diversity, or preferences for forms of diversity that may advantage White people. In one pre-registered two wave study (Total N = 600) I examined liberals’ and conservatives’ perceptions and mental representations of surface- (vs. deep-level) diversity using a reverse correlation task. Images were then rated with respect to perceived race and stereotype-relevant attributes. As expected, participants perceived organizations that emphasized surface- vs. deep-level diversity to be …

Does Gender Moderate The Relationship Between Surface Acting And Burnout?, Cynthia Kennedy

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Burnout occurs when the workplace has chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors that trigger emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and feelings of incompetence. There is a gap in burnout literature on how experiences, systemic expectations, and coping behaviors differ between females and males. Previous research suggests that comparable behaviors in male and female employees elicit different reactions from their peers. As a result, attributes such as assertiveness, generally perceived as powerful for males, are seen as abrasive for females. This mindset creates an environment where females act in a way that society expects them to remain credible. Surface acting involves the regulation of …

Mindset Theory Relates To Attitudes About Prison And Parole Among College Students, Cassandra R. Petersen

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The maintenance of prosocial relationships has been strongly connected to criminal desistance among past offenders. The opinions held by the community shape the prejudice often encountered by those with a criminal record. To promote desistance, we must understand how criminals and their abilities are considered by the public. In this study, 69 college students were surveyed about the United States prison and parole system in conjunction with Dweck’s mindset theory. Along with explicit questions, an Implicit Associations Test (IAT) was employed to measure unconscious associations between mentality and punishment preference. The IAT revealed that traits of a growth mindset were …

Perceptions Of Religious Accommodations In The Workplace, Kelsey Ciagala

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Although all forms of religious discrimination are understudied (Ghumman et al., 2013), we examined how Christian Americans, the dominant religious group in the U.S., perceive the fairness of religious workplace accommodations. We examined and two potential correlates of their perceptions: religious fundamentalism and prejudice towards outgroup religions. In one session, participants completed measures of religious fundamentalism and prejudice. Approximately three days later, they read three target and five filler descriptions of an employee requesting a workplace accommodation. Participants indicated how fair the request was to the employee, how fair the request was to the employee’s coworkers, how reasonable the request …

Perspective Driven Behavior: The Effects Of Classroom Climate On A Student's Personality And Willingness To Communicate, Nicholas Weber

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Modern students are experiencing problems novel to the college environment. Much emphasis has been placed on learning in the classroom and the interactions with other students and professors, but this research has neglected features intrinsic to the student in question. The current study evaluates the student’s communication climate (or Connected Communication Climate Inventory (CCCI) score) within their classrooms as it relates to the relationship between key personality traits (i.e. Extraversion, Intellect/ Imagination, and Neuroticism) and their willingness to communicate (WTC) in those settings. College students have been given assessments to evaluate the prevalence of distinct personality traits and their relationships …

"So, Who's In Charge?!": Managing Differences In Perceived Leaders Among Volunteers, Sanaa Ahmed, Sheridan Trent, Acacia Hoffman

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Volunteers contribute greatly to the success of many organizations in the nation; this is especially true for nonprofit organizations that often find themselves stretched thin financially. Interestingly, although the importance of volunteers is generally acknowledged, there is little research investigating volunteers' perceptions of their leaders. When it comes to volunteers, expectations for leadership may be different than for employees. To address this gap in the literature, we take a step back and seek to understand the underlying nature of leadership for volunteers in nonprofit organizations. Studies have often bypassed the usefulness of qualitative research in examining new phenomenon. In an …

Mapping Core Processes Of Creativity To Teams: The Development Of A Behavioral Coding Scheme, Salvatore Leone

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The study of creativity is of particular interest to modern organizations competing in a dynamic environment. Creativity is defined as the generation of novel ideas, solutions, and products that are both high quality and highly original (Amabile, 1996). Quality refers to the usefulness of the proposed idea, while originality refers to the uniqueness of an idea, and both standards must for high creativity (Mumford & Gustafson, 1988; Runco & Jaeger, 2012). Reviewing conceptualization of creative models, three core processes emerge: problem construction, idea generation, and idea evaluation. While much is known about how the three core processes operate at the …

Is There A Gender Bias In Creative Evaluations?, Payge Ehrp, Nadine Maliakkal

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Creativity has become an increasingly important skill in today’s world. Because society increasingly values creativity, it is critical that women and men are evaluated equally in terms of their creative output. Unfortunately, previous research indicates that men tend to be perceived as more creative compared to women. The present study investigates this phenomenon further by examining whether participants view the same exact ideas as more creative when they come from a man compared to when they come from a woman. To test our hypothesis, participants will be given a vignette scenario that poses an ambiguous problem. Participants will be given …

A Model Of Workload Assignment Preference And Its Effect On Performance, Productivity, And Stress, Christopher Winchester

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The importance of employees within a firm has led to an increased need in maximizing performance and productivity, while also minimizing the stress levels of employees. This study provides insight into two types of workload assignment of (1) receiving a task all at once, and (2) receiving a task in incremental sections. It investigates how a subject’s workload assignment preference can impact performance, productivity, and stress levels. In addition, it also looks at the predictor variables of the Big Five personality traits, locus of control, tolerance for ambiguity, uncertainty orientation, and need for cognition to determine if workload assignment preference …

The Effects Of Leader Support And Leader Gender On Subordinate Creative Problem-Solving Performance, Nadine Maliakkal

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

This research draws on role congruity theory to examine whether the well-studied relationship between leader support and subordinate creativity differs when the leader is a man or a woman. Utilizing Amazon Mechanical Turk participants, the research employs experimental vignette methodology to examine (1) whether high (vs. low) leader support results in better subordinate creative problem-solving, (2) whether subordinate creative problem-solving is better under male (vs. female) leaders, and (3) whether the positive effect of support on subordinate creativity is greater for male than female leaders.

Experienced Sexual Harassment In The Military: Why Soldiers Aren't Reporting, Jacqueline Jaramillo

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The prevalence of U.S. military personnel experiencing sexual harassment is a significant problem that must be addressed. Recent estimates suggest that 26% of female service members and 7% of male service members experience sexual harassment in the military (Bell, Dardis, Vento, & Street, 2018). One purpose of this study is to review the research to determine the extent to which the culture of reporting in the military influences why soldiers demonstrate a strong tendency to not report sexual harassment they have experienced. A second goal of this research is to explore the evidence for soldiers’ fear of retaliation for reporting …

If I Had Something To Add, I Would: Meeting Topic Competences And Participation, Isaac Lindquist

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Most employees participate in workplace meetings, and their experiences in the meetings can vary greatly, which can lead to positive or negative effects on both job attitudes and behavior. In this study, we examined the effect that a meeting attendee’s competence in the meeting topic had on their participation in the meeting and their perception of meeting effectiveness. Results indicated those with higher levels of competence in the meeting topic were more likely to participate and through participation found their meeting more effective, and this relationship was stronger when employee dissent in the meetings was high. Leaders should ensure that …

The Role Of Need For Cognition In Creative Thinking Processes, Vignesh Murugavel, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Victoria Kennel

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Expanding on past findings, we examined the effects of need for cognition on different cognitive processes of creative problem-solving. We assessed need for cognition (NFC) and creative abilities of 180 undergraduates in problem construction, idea generation, and idea evaluation tasks. Regression analysis was used to test the effects of NFC on measures of creativity. Our findings indicate that NFC positively relates to the core creative processes of problem construction, idea generation, and idea evaluation. The theoretical and practical implication of our findings are discussed.

Applicant Reactions To Gendered Wording In Job Advertisements, Sahra Kaboli-Nejad, Eric Scheller, Carey Ryan

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Women account for only 28% of the STEM workforce (Neuhauser, 2014). One contributing factor may be gendered wording in advertisements (e.g., the use of more masculine wording in male-dominated fields). Masculine wording may discourage women from applying for male-dominated STEM careers. Research has shown, for example, that participants perceive there to be more men in occupations that use more masculine than feminine wording in their advertisements, resulting in women finding the jobs less appealing (Gaucher et al., 2011; Horvath & Sczesnya, 2016).

The present research examined whether gendered wording in an advertisement for a male-dominated STEM career affects perceptions of …

Stress Experiences And Appraisals Influence Global Perspectives On Meeting Satisfaction, Emily Adams, Joseph Allen

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Meetings are inherently group activities, yet perceptions of meeting outcomes may vary by individual stress appraisal. This study explored the relationship between global meetings-related stressor experiences and meeting satisfaction as moderated by stress appraisals. Results are interpreted in light of occupational health theories and meetings science.

Experienced Sexual Assault In The Military: An Exploration Of The Organizational Factors Influencing Under-Reporting And Consequences When Victims Report, Medicine Flower Blue Star

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Sexual assault of both male and female service members is a pervasive and serious problem. In 2017, based on data from the U.S. Department of Defense, 5,200 service members reported sexual assault, representing a 10% increase from 2016. Scholars, military and government leaders are concerned that the prevalence of sexual assault is underestimated due to under-reporting. O’Brien, Keith, and Shoemaker (2015), for example, point to a 2013 report by the U.S. Department of Defense, which estimates that 67% of women and 81% of men do not report their military sexual assaults. One purpose of this study is to explore the …

Recovery Experiences Bridge The Gap Between Volunteering And Work Outcomes, Kaitlin Fosler

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

This study examined the relationship between volunteer work demands, recovery experiences, and work outcomes. The mental and physical demands of the volunteer work influenced the recovery experiences of psychological detachment and mastery. Further, mastery experiences positively impacted organizational commitment while both mastery and control positively impacted work engagement.

Modeling And Predicting Serious Cwbs Using Improved Analytic Methods, Benjamin Thomas, Kyle Kercher

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Research seeking to study and prevent serious forms of employee misbehaviors has been stymied by low incident rates and non-normal responses. Polychoric (cf., Pearson) correlation -based analytic methods offer solutions to these kinds of data. This 2-study (N = 172; N = 454) research provides support for these analytic methods in building models that distinguish serious and minor CWBs.

Meeting Lateness And The Effects On Employees In The Workplace, Kathleen Stibbs

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

A workplace meeting is an event or discussion that two or more individuals partake in with the goal of accomplishing work-related tasks. Half the time spent in meetings is wasted due to negative behaviors such as lateness. It is hypothesized that people who give an inadequate excuse for meeting lateness receive poorer outcomes/ratings than those who give no excuse, with an adequate excuse receiving the best ratings. An excuse can be considered inadequate in two ways: if another action was available and if it is considered unethical. A survey was administered to determine what feelings arise towards late individuals. Results …

Team Leadership Emergence And Team Outcomes, Ryan Royston

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Using sequential analysis, we observed how team problem solving and procedural communication differed by leadership (shared leadership, single leader, or leaderless). While all teams engaged in solution identification and elaboration, shared leader teams showed higher performance, and tended to draw more connections with solutions and engage in planning follow-up tasks.

Childhood Victimization Pathways And Violent Extremism, Michael K. Logan

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The current study elaborates on childhood victimization as a nonideological risk-factor for participation in violent extremism. In particular, we focus on contextualizing the early lives of a sample of former members of violent White supremacist groups (n = 44). Data were collected through life-history interviews and analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. The findings indicate that there are three distinct victimization pathways characterize the early lives of our sample: (a) living in a dangerous family, (b) residing in a dangerous community, and (c) living in an unstable, chaotic family environment. These victimization pathways provide further insight into the …

Intrinsic Motivation And Creativity: The Mediating Role Of Creative Self-Efficacy, Kasey Klatt

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

This research examines the relationship between intrinsic motivation and creativity and the mediating effect of creative self-efficacy in that relationship. Past research suggests domain differences in creativity and the relationship between creative self-efficacy and creativity. Therefore, we evaluated whether domain differences exist in this mediated relationship. Mediation analyses indicated mediation for four of the five domains of creativity from Kaufman’s Domains of Creativity. Creative self-efficacy fully mediated the relationship between intrinsic motivation and creativity for the Artistic and Performance domains and partially mediated the relationship for Scholarly and Everyday domains. No evidence of mediation was found for the Mechanical/Scientific domain. …

The Influence Of Humorous Priming And Situation Type On Generation Of Malevolently Creative Ideas, Reo W. Newring

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Creativity is usually considered a positive attribute, but what happens when creativity is used to generate a harmful product? Malevolent creativity (Cropley, Kaufman, & Cropley, 2008) refers to a clever, original product with negative valence, or intention to harm. The purpose of the current study was to examine predictors of malevolent creativity, expanding on existing knowledge and exploring a new area, specifically humor. Humorous primes were used to evoke malevolence, in the form of dialogues between two cartoon characters engaged in highly aggressive, moderately aggressive, self-defeating, or neutral exchanges. Subjects were then provided with a hypothetical situation (problem) and asked …

Keep Calm And Meeting On: Meeting Professionalism And Stress, Kathleen Stibbs

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Purpose - Professionalism in the workplace can be a motivator for employees to be more attentive in their work. Without professionalism, employees may not have a positive image of their organization. Specifically, a lack of professionalism in meetings can elicit negative responses towards meetings and/or other attendees, which can lead to frustration and stress. Workplace meetings are common in nearly any organization, which makes achieving a greater understanding of meeting interaction and its impact all the more important. Consistent with Hobfoll’s conservation theory of resources, a lack of professionalism may elicit feelings of stress. The purpose of this paper is …

Unpacking Divergent Thinking And Intelligence: How Factors Influence Creative Performance, Kevin S. Mitchell

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Creativity has gained increasing research attention with focuses on key individual differences and cognitive processes. Creativity is the production of novel and useful ideas, solutions, or products. There are many factors that can influence creativity, but two well-researched constructs are divergent thinking and intelligence. Both divergent thinking and intelligence have been shown to have a positive relationship with creativity. What is less known is how these factors operate to influence creative performance. To examine the possible mechanism by which these factors influence creativity, we utilize a cognitive process model; specifically examining problem construction. Problem construction is the process of defining …

Extra Curricular Activities: How Good Are They?, Sandra J. Vargas-Salinas 7799949

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The goal of this research program is to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the causes and consequences of college student stress, wellness, and engagement. Toward that goal, this study examined college student perceptions of the positive and negative characteristics of their experiences with extra-curricular and volunteering activities. Using an adapted version of the job demands-resources theory, we explored whether college students viewed these activities as resource-providing, where skills were developed and connections were built, or whether they were viewed as a demand in the service of merely building their resume. The study collected data from a variety of different college …