Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

Emotional Expressiveness And Problematic Behaviors Among Male Juvenile Sexual Offenders, General Offenders, And Nonoffenders, Carin M. Ness

Dissertations

This analytic variable study examined the potential differences that exist among male juvenile sexual offenders (JSOs), general offenders (GOs), and nonoffenders (NOs) on the emotional expressiveness variables of alexithymia and affective orientation, and three problematic behavior variables including self-defeating behavior, risk taking, and reckless behavior. It was hypothesized that JSOs and GOs would be statistically significantly different than NOs on all variables but not different from each other.

Hypotheses were tested by a MANOVA. When statistical significance was indicated, ANOVAs were computed to identify the specific groups and measures, which were statistically significant The significance level for all analyses was …

Differential Effects Of Individual And Group Pay Contingencies On Individual Performance, Judith A. Honeywell-Johnson

Dissertations

Individual productivity of high performers was compared under an individual monetary incentive system and a 10-member group monetary incentive system. Subjects were 4 college students, each assigned to a simulated 10-person group. Subjects individually performed four computerized work tasks (SYNWORK) simultaneously, and the total number of points earned on the tasks was the main dependent variable. A within-subject reversal design was used, with hourly pay (A), individual (B) and group (C) monetary incentives implemented in an ABCB pattern. Subjects, when working under the group incentive pay condition, were told that the number of points they earned during each session would …

Effects Of Linear And Non-Linear Incentive Pay Systems With Individual And Group Payouts On The Social Psychology Phenomenon Of Social Loafing, Delores A. Tinley Smoot

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was twofold. First, the experiment investigated the occurrence of social loafing behavior when individuals are engaged in a production task. Social loafing is defined as a decrement in individual performance when working co-actively with a group. Second, the experiment compared the effectiveness of three incentive pay systems (linear, positively and negatively accelerating) in eliminating social loafing behavior and in generating performance levels higher than those generated by a flat or hourly pay system.

Sixteen undergraduate students, all female, participated in twenty-five 15- minute work sessions in which they made widgets from pop beads. Subjects …

Effects Of Alternative Activities On Productivity Under Different Percentages Of Incentive Pay, Grainne A. Matthews

Dissertations

This study examined whether low percentages of incentive pay would be as effective as high percentages in maintaining work performance in the presence of competitive alternative activities. Incentives may increase performance primarily by decreasing time spent performing alternative activities. Although the link between performance and pay is tighter when the percentage of incentive pay is higher, laboratory studies have not found the expected difference. It is possible that previous simulations of work settings have not offered realistic competing contingencies. This study used a computer simulation of a quality inspection task and provided computer games as alternative activities to participants who …

A Systems Approach To Performance Quality: An Application To Higher Education, Tobias Lafleur

Dissertations

Graduate-student teaching apprentices (TAs) in the psychology department at a university in Michigan conducted seminars in an advanced undergraduate-level psychology course. All were members of the department’s behavior analysis training system (BATS). BATS was an integrated series of courses and practicum experiences designed to achieve three main goals: recruiting, training, and maintaining the skills of competent behavior analysts. Twenty-five different tasks performed by the TAs were analyzed and measured prior to an intervention aimed at their improvement. Informal observation suggested that failure to complete these tasks reduced BATS’ ability to meet its larger goals. Three well-known systems analysis models were …

Worker Productivity As A Function Of The Percentage Of Monetary Incentives To Base Pay, Carol J. Frisch

Dissertations

Several studies have shown that individuals working under pay conditions with monetary incentives have higher levels of productivity than individuals working for non-incentive pay, such as hourly wages (Abernathy, Duffy, & O’Brien, 1982; Dierks & McNally, 1987; Farr, 1976; Gaetani, Hoxeng, & Austin, 1986; George & Hopkins, 1989; London & Oldham, 1977; Orpen, 1982; Nebeker & Neuberger, 1985; Terborg & Miller, 1978; Yukl, Wexley, & Seymore, 1972). It has also been noted that a minimum of 30% incentive is generally accepted as necessary to affect (employee) motivation (Fein, 1970), and increasing incentives above this level will not result in appreciable …

Evaluation Of A Computer Simulation To Assess Subject Preference For Different Types Of Incentive Pay: Part Two, Stephen Mark Sundby

Dissertations

This study further investigated the use of a computer simulation to assess subject preference for different types of pay systems. Subjects were eight undergraduates recruited from psychology classes at Western Michigan University. The dependent variable was the subjects’ choice of pay system, either simulated hourly pay or base pay plus incentive. Simulated work performance was determined by the computer with 0.50 probability of low or high performance. For Experiment 1, the independent variable was the maximum amount of simulated pay that subjects could earn under each pay type. For Experiments 2 and 3, the independent variable was the percentage of …

Job Aids, Feedback, And The Teaching Of Verbal-Reasoning, Angela Williams Campbell

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to test the effects of a job aid and feedback on learning to solve directional verbal-reasoning problems, and (2) to examine whether students’ skills transferred to similar problems following the removal of both the job aid and feedback. Some previous researchers who studied problem solving utilized the think-aloud technique and used solutions generated by expert problem solvers. The think-aloud technique, although perhaps a good one, is not practical in the classroom. In the main study, a job aid was incorporated within the problem so students would be able to use guidance toward …

Organizational Development Through The Implementation Of Strategic Plans, Susan M. Eickhoff

Dissertations

Organizations today need effective and efficient total organizational change strategies in order to ensure both short- and long-term organizational health. As a result of an organization being a multi-dimensional entity, the ingredients for its change strategy must necessarily be representative of all its dimensions such as business management, information system, behavior analysis, behavioral systems analysis, total quality management and statistical process control techniques. Those ingredients of a comprehensive change strategy exist but have not been put together into a totally integrated package so far. In the present study, a fully-integrated organizational change strategy was systematically employed with the goal of …

Effects Of Performance Feedback And Goal Setting On The Productivity And Satisfaction Of Clerical Workers, Leslie Ann Wilk

Dissertations

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Performance Management (PM) intervention designed to improve the productivity and job satisfaction of clerical employees in a university admissions department. During the first phase of the intervention, supervisors applied a PM program which included an individualized daily goal setting and verbal feedback program. During phase two, graphic display of individual performance levels was added to the goals and verbal feedback program. Productivity was measured via daily self reports of tasks completed. Job satisfaction was assessed by taking measures prior to and following the intervention using the Work …

The Psychological Typologies And Learning Styles Of Security Managers In A Large Industrial Organization, Michael John Witkowski

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychological typologies and learning styles of a population of security managers. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Learning Style Inventory 1985 (LSI 1985) were used with a population of 125 security managers. The return rate was 73% (N = 91).

Four research questions were investigated concerning: (a) psychological types of the population of security managers as measured by the MBTI, (b) the learning styles of the population as reported on the LSI 1985 and MBTI, (c) how the security management population compared with related occupations (e.g., police managers) after MBTI …

Choice In The Classroom: Human Impulsivity And Self-Control, John W. Esch

Dissertations

Eight high school students' choice behavior was studied in an applied educational setting. Students were divided into two groups based on choice patterns for immediate grade points and academic on-task performance. Students were classified as dependent-impulsive when they chose immediate points and their on-task performance was good. Students were classified as avoidance-impulsive when they chose delayed points (avoidance) and their on-task performance was poor. Dependent-impulsive choice patterns were considered maladaptive because constant information on good performance promotes dependence on support from others. Avoidance-impulsive choice patterns were considered maladaptive because they allowed students to avoid immediate aversive information on performance that …

The Effectiveness Of Feedback Procedures On Machine Set-Up Time In A Manufacturing Setting, Connie J. Wittkopp

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a treatment package designed to improve and maintain set-up time in the extrusion department of a rubber manufacturing company. Subjects were exposed to various behavioral techniques including training and a feedback system in the form of both written and verbal supervisory comments with an emphasis placed on improving performance through use of videotaping. An attempt was made to maintain treatment gains by teaching supervisors how to give information concerning set-up performance to their employees. Results indicate that average weekly set-up times for each machine were significantly below baseline …

The Use Of An Incentive System To Increase Worker Performance In A Financial Setting, Steven S. Armstrong

Dissertations

The use of merchandise as a consequence in a performance based incentive system was assessed in a financial setting. Points were earned by each subject based on individual daily performance. These points were collected by each subject and used toward the purchase of merchandise. A multiple baseline across two groups of bank tellers showed substantial increases in worker behavior after the onset of contingent points. Differences between groups existed and an analysis is provided. Follow-up data revealed sustained performance and a cost-benefit analysis demonstrated substantial savings.

Peer Influence: A Method To Help Manage Stress, Ronald Cameron Zurcher

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to find a difference between middle managers’ and blue-collar workers’ episodic non-work related and work related stress events. The information that was found was to be developed into a “peer influence” program to help prevent the workers from experiencing chronic stress symptoms.

Method: From research it was determined that there is a significant difference between middle managers’ and blue-collar workers’ episodic non-work and work related stress events. The material that was reviewed showed a difference in five areas: threat of job loss, lack of authority, new social values (sociability), personal life (satisfaction), and …

An Application Of Performance Analysis In A Food Cooperative, Lone Milani

Dissertations

A performance systems analysis was applied in a small business to diagnose problems and direct decisions in order to solve performance deficiencies of that organization. A "performance audit," as the approach is called, consists of analyzing an operating system from the most general to the most specific levels of vantage (i.e., levels at which a system operates). The levels of vantage for any system are: philosophical, cultural, policy, strategic, tactical, and logistic. At each level the actual performance was compared to predetermined standards called "exemplary performance." This comparison facilitated the diagnosis of the organization's deficiencies.

The study attempted to design …

The Relationship Between Systems Theory And Behavior Analysis, Michael B. Oberlin

Dissertations

This paper provides a conceptual framework which clarifies the relationship between General Systems Theory and Behavior Analysis. This framework is supplied by a theoretical notion borrowed from Simon (1962), the notion of "dynamics of interaction." "Interaction" refers to interaction between the units of analysis of science, e.g., in the analysis of behavior, stimuli, responses, and consequences in economics, units of supply and demand. The paradigm of Behavior Analysis is seen to accommodate a "higher-frequency dynamics" found in subsystems; and General Systems Theory, along with disciplines like Economics and Organizational Analysis, accommodates a "lower-frequency dynamics" found in systems. Argument is based …

The Use Of Bonus Pay To Produce Cost Effective Behavior Change In The Direct Care Staff Of A Residential Mental Health Program, William F. Uhlman

Dissertations

The literature on the design of mental health service systems and techniques to generate performance in the workplace was reviewed and synthesised to create guidelines for developing cost effective behavior change in mental health systems. The present study was an examination of the cost effective application of monetary bonuses to the completion of training objectives by professional and paraprofessional staff in a residential service setting. Training objectives consisted of the teaching of specific survival skills to adult mentally retarded clients that were designed to enable clients to move to more independent settings.

Two experiments were performed. Experiment 1 examined the …

Relationships In Organizations Between Leaders' Personality Characteristics And Their Hierarchical Levels And Role Foci, Loretta Church

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether leaders' personality characteristics were related to the hierarchical level and the focus of their roles in organizations. Leaders from two industrial plants of two Fortune 500 corporations were selected for the investigation. They comprised a total population of persons responsible for making decisions concerning the use of data, people, or things within the organizations.

Data were collected employing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Functional Job Analysis Self-Report (FJASR). The MBTI instrument identified personality characteristics in terms of two paired and opposite preferences for (1) sensing or intuition, and (2) …

The Structured Meeting System: A Procedure For Supervising The Completion Of Nonrecurring Tasks, Barbara J. Fulton

Dissertations

Supervision of delegated tasks is often a source of organizational problems, because workers do not complete tasks as efficiently as managers expect. Analysis of the work setting suggests that behaviors of both supervisors and supervisees are governed by overlapping contingencies; different supervisor behaviors probably result in different contingencies for supervisee behavior. The analysis also reveals two categories of tasks: recurring tasks and nonrecurring tasks, with the latter type requiring frequent supervisor attention to assign new tasks and monitor previous ones. Contingencies for nonrecurring tasks were targeted for study in the present research, because of indications by managers that productivity and …

Underutilization Of Temporary Employees As A Determinant Of Turnover, Elizabeth De La Ossa

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Psychological Profile Analysis Of Selected Employees Of The Indiana Department Of Correction, Stanley Kent Showalter

Dissertations

Problem. The personality of employees is a vital key to understanding and improving the present correctional system. It was the purpose of the present study to assess, describe, and analyze a selected group of state correctional employees.

Method. The Bipolar Psychological Inventory and several demographic questions were used in assessing the personality of correctional employees and inmates. Cattell's Coefficient of Pattern Similarity (r_p) was employed to measure and analyze several characteristics of correctional employee sub-groups. Three hundred sixty-three employees and four hundred forty-eight inmates were studied.

Results. Among the most important results obtained were indications of significant relationships …