Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

Self-Efficacy Matters More Than Interruptions In A Sequential Multitasking Experiment, Maureen A. Conard, Robert F. Marsh

Psychology Faculty Publications

Interruptions and multitasking have received a great deal of attention from researchers. The present study is the first to examine task self-efficacy along with interruptions in an experimental multitasking framework. Perceptions of resumption lag times and task rehearsal were also examined. Participants (N= 110) completed a primary task (puzzle) with some being interrupted to pursue a secondary task (a word search) either once or four times. Uninterrupted participants completed the puzzle 26% faster than those interrupted once and 30% faster than those interrupted four times. However, self-efficacy predicted performance much more strongly than did interruptions, and therefore should receive more …

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 …

Categorizing Fetal Heart Rate Variability With And Without Visual Aids, Amanda J. Ashdown, Mark W. Scerbo, Lee A. Belfore Ii, Stephen S. Davis, Alfred Z. Abuhamad

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective This study examined the ability of clinicians to correctly categorize images of fetal heart rate (FHR) variability with and without the use of exemplars.

Study Design A sample of 33 labor and delivery clinicians inspected static FHR images and categorized them into one of four categories defined by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) based on the amount of variability within absent, minimal, moderate, or marked ranges. Participants took part in three conditions: two in which they used exemplars representing FHR variability near the center or near the boundaries of each range, and a third …

Participate Or Else!: The Effect Of Participation In Decision-Making In Meetings On Employee Engagement, Michael Yoerger, John Crowe, Joseph A. Allen

Psychology Faculty Publications

In the scope of organizational life, few events are as universal or as influential as workplace meetings. In this study, we focused our attention on better understanding the relationship between meetings processes and post-meeting outcomes. More specifically, we investigated the relationship between participation in decision-making in meetings (PDM) and employee engagement, after controlling for the impact of meeting size and other demographic variables. We examined this from a theoretical perspective, providing particular consideration to the underlying basis of social exchange theory and norms of reciprocity at work in this relationship. Using a sample of working adults in the United States …

Organizational Identification: A Context-Specific Mitigating Resource Of Work–Family Conflict, Joseph A. Allen, John Crowe, Benjamin A. Baran, Cliff Scott

Psychology Faculty Publications

The tension between work and non-work life remains a critical issue in contemporary careers. This study explores the role of organizational identification (OI) in reducing work–family conflict (WFC) within demanding and high-stakes jobs in dynamic, uncertain and potentially dangerous contexts (e.g., firefighting). Survey data from 341 firefighters suggest that, congruent with conservation of resources theory and scarcity theory, OI may serve as a resource that mitigates WFC in these contexts. Additionally, the data suggest that the negative relationship between OI and WFC is stronger when trauma is low. For practice, this study provides important implications for employees in similar contexts …

How Fun Are Your Meetings? Investigating The Relationship Between Humor Patterns In Team Interactions And Team Performance, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, Joseph A. Allen

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research on humor in organizations has rarely considered the social context in which humor occurs. One such social setting that most of us experience on a daily basis concerns the team context. Building on recent theorizing about the humor—performance association in teams, this study seeks to increase our understanding of the function and effects of humor in team interaction settings. Specifically, we examine behavioral patterns of humor and laughter in real teams. We videotaped and coded humor and laughter during 54 regular organizational team meetings. Performance ratings were obtained immediately following the team meetings as well as at a later …

Suggested Practices For Making I-O Connections: Let’S Build Bridges And Grow I-O!, Joseph A. Allen, Tara S. Behrend, Suzanne T. Bell, Victoria J. Smoak

Psychology Faculty Publications

It may come as no surprise, but there are an awful lot of people who have no idea what I-O pychology is or what I-O psychologists do. Common reactions from new acquaintances include, “Ooo, I could really use some help organizing my home and be a more industrious person” or “Wow, that’s a mouthful” or “No really, what do you do for a living?” Perhaps even more alarming is the number of students across universities who aren’t introduced to I-O—even if they are psychology majors! We are struck by the number of prospective graduate students who tell us that they …

Understanding Workplace Meetings: A Qualitative Taxonomy Of Meeting Purposes, Joseph A. Allen, Tammy Beck, Cliff Scott, Steven G. Rogelberg

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose - Meetings are a workplace activity that deserves increased attention from researchers and practitioners. Previous researchers attempted to develop typologies of meeting purpose with limited success. Through a comparison of classification methodologies, we consider a taxonomy as the appropriate classification scheme for meeting purpose. The goal of our study is to propose a taxonomy of meeting purpose. We then utilize the developed taxonomy to investigate the frequency with which a representative sample of working adults engaged in meetings of these varying purposes. Our proposed taxonomy provides relevant classifications for future research on meetings and serves as a useful tool …

Linking Pre-Meeting Communication To Meeting Effectiveness, Joseph A. Allen, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nicole Landowski

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose – This study investigates the importance of communication that occurs just before workplace meetings (i.e., pre-meeting talk). We explore how four specific types of pre-meeting talk (small talk, work talk, meeting preparatory talk, and shop talk) impact participants' experiences of meeting effectiveness. Moreover, we investigate the role of participants’ personality in the link between pre-meeting talk and perceived meeting effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained using an online survey of working adults (N = 252). Because pre-meeting talk has not been studied previously, a new survey measure of meeting talk was developed.

Findings – Pre-meeting small talk was a …

Manager-Led Group Meetings: A Context For Promoting Employee Engagement, Joseph A. Allen, Steven G. Rogelberg

Psychology Faculty Publications

Employee engagement is a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. Using Kahn’s theory of engagement, we look at an organizational context where employee engagement may be promoted—the workgroup meeting. Two time-separated Internet-based surveys were used to query a sample of working adults (N = 319). The findings provide support that the psychological conditions for engagement mediate the relationship between manager usage/facilitation of meetings and overall employee engagement. Specifically, as managers make their workgroup meetings relevant, allow for employee voice in their meetings where possible, and manage the meeting from a time perspective, employees …

Observing Culture: Differences In U.S.-American And German Team Meeting Behaviors, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, Joseph A. Allen, Annika L. Meinecke

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although previous research has theorized about team interaction differences between the German and U.S. cultures, actual behavioral observations of such differences are sparse. This study explores team meetings as a context for examining intercultural differences. We analyzed a total of 5,188 meeting behaviors in German and U.S. student teams. All teams discussed the same task to consensus. Results from behavioral process analyses showed that German teams focused significantly more on problem analysis, whereas U.S. teams focused more on solution production. Moreover, U.S. teams showed significantly more positive socioemotional meeting behavior than German teams. Finally, German teams showed significantly more counteractive …

A Theory-Driven, Longitudinal Evaluation Of The Impact Of Team Training On Safety Culture In 24 Hospitals, Katherine J. Jones, Anne M. Skinner, Robin High, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Effective teamwork facilitates collective learning, which is integral to safety culture. There are no rigorous evaluations of the impact of team training on the four components of safety culture—reporting, just, flexible and learning cultures. We evaluated the impact of a year-long team training programme on safety culture in 24 hospitals using two theoretical frameworks.

The Revolving Door: A Closer Look At Major Factors In Volunteers’ Intention To Quit, Joseph A. Allen, Stephanie L. Meuller

Psychology Faculty Publications

In nonprofit organizations, volunteer coordinators deal with high rates of volunteer turnover due, in part, to increased levels of volunteer burnout. This study sought to identify how burnout can help explain volunteers’ intention to quit and identify two potential antecedents of burnout: voice and role ambiguity. Specifically, it is hypothesized that volunteer voice and role ambiguity affects volunteers’ intention to quit through their relationship with volunteer burnout. Data were obtained from volunteers working in an animal welfare organization in the western United States (N = 151). An online survey was administered to volunteers who responded to a variety of questions …

Incorporating I-O Into An Introductory Psychology Course: A New Set Of Custom Modules By The Education And Training Committee, Joseph A. Allen

Psychology Faculty Publications

One concern that SIOP members often express at conferences and other gatherings of I-O psychologists is the general lack of visibility of I-O among the majority of the undergraduate students in psychology. Although interest in I-O psychology has grown among students, very few introductory psychology textbooks cover the topic. In an effort to address this concern, Mikki Hebl, the former Education and Training Committee Chair, invited a subcommittee composed of committee members and others who have expertise in undergraduate education to develop “shovel-ready” modules that introduce I-O topics to an introductory psychology audience. Those responsible for preparing the modules include …

Materials For Incorporating I/O Into An Introductory Psychology Course, Joseph A. Allen, Carrie Bulger, Chris Cunningham, Lisa Kath, Mike Horvath, Morrie Mullins, S. Tonidandel

Psychology Faculty Publications

The following materials were created by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) in an effort to produce some “shovel-ready” modules for incorporating I-O Psychology topics directly into Introductory Psychology courses. Although interest in I-O psychology has grown among students, very few introductory psychology textbooks cover the topic. Therefore, we have designed modules that correspond directly with the topics typically discussed in introductory psychology courses (e.g. Biopsychology in the workplace, Memory and Job Performance, etc.) that can be “cut-and-pasted” into already prepared lectures.

A Sequential Analysis Of Procedural Communication In Organizational Meetings: How Teams Facilitate Their Meetings, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, Joseph A. Allen, Simone Kauffeld

Psychology Faculty Publications

How do teams facilitate their own meetings? Unmanaged (or free) social interaction often leads to poor decision-making, unnecessary conformity, social loafing, and ineffective communication processes, practices, and products. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential benefits of procedural communication in team meetings. The role of procedural communication, defined as verbal behaviors that structure group discussion to facilitate goal accomplishment, was examined in 59 team meetings from 19 organizations. Meeting behaviors were videotaped and coded. Lag sequential analysis revealed that procedural meeting behaviors are sustained by supporting statements within the team interaction process. They promote proactive communication (e.g., …

Perfectionism: The Good, The Bad, And The Creative, Benjamin Wigert, Roni Reiter-Palmon, James C. Kaufman, Paul J. Silvia

Psychology Faculty Publications

The influence of adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism on creativity was examined. Initially, six measures of creativity were administered, including creative self-perceptions, behavior, and performance measures. Adaptive perfectionism was weakly positively related to creativity, whereas maladaptive perfectionism was unrelated to creativity across five of the six measures. A follow-up study assessed whether initial findings could be generalized to an everyday problem-solving task. Results indicated that adaptive perfectionism was related to higher quality but not originality of solutions. Further, a curvilinear relationship in the shape of an inverted “U” occurred between adaptive perfectionism and four of eight creativity measures. Overall, adaptive perfectionism …

Self-Awareness And The Evolution Of Leaders: The Need For A Better Measure Of Self-Awareness, Greg C. Ashley, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

A growing body of empirical research suggests that self-awareness is associated with successful leadership. Although self-awareness research has generated a number of scales to measure self-awareness, none have done so with the explicit focus of leadership. The present research is a summary of three studies designed to develop and begin validation for a scale to measure self-awareness in the context of leadership and leader development. The result of Study 1 and 2 was a 54-item self-awareness scale. A confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence for a marginal fit. Predictive validity was assessed in Study 3 by looking for associations between self-awareness …

Evaluation Of Self-Perceptions Of Creativity: Is It A Useful Criterion?, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Erika Morral, James C. Kaufman, Jonathan Bruce Santo

Psychology Faculty Publications

Self-evaluations or self-perceptions of creativity have been used in the past both as predictors of creative performance and as a criterion. Four measures utilizing self-perceptions of creativity were assessed for their usefulness as criterion measures of creativity. Analyses provided evidence of domain specificity of self-perceptions. The scales correlated with self-report measures of creativity, but not with objective measures. Self-perceptions of creativity had strong to moderate relationships with personality and creative self-efficacy. These results suggest that while self-perceptions of creativity may provide some information about creativity, researchers should be cautious when using this measure as a criterion.

Global Organizational Psychology: Internationalizing The Training Curriculum, Richard L. Griffith, William Gabrenya, Lisa A. Steelman, Brigitte Armon, Beth Gitlin, Mavis Kung

Psychology Faculty Publications

Due to the rapid of globalization in the Information Age, students must become adept at navigating the complex and ambiguous nature of the global business environment. One major roadblock for training students to become global professionals is the lack of international curriculum within Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology programs at leading post-graduate training institutions. This article examines the methodologies and best practices used in establishing an International I/O Psychology curriculum at the graduate level developed to train students to better understand and work within the complexities of the global business environment. In this article we discuss the process we used to identify …

Training Evaluation In Virtual Worlds: Development Of A Model, Richard N. Landers, Rachel C. Callan

Psychology Faculty Publications

Many organizations have adopted virtual worlds (VWs) as a setting for training programs; however, research on appropriate evaluation of training in this new setting is incomplete. In this article, we address this gap by first exploring the unique issues relevant to evaluation faced by training designers working in VWs. At the macro-organizational level, the primary issue faced is an organizational culture unreceptive to or otherwise skeptical of VWs. At the micro-organizational level, two major issues are identified: individual trainees unreceptive to VWs and general lack of experience navigating VWs. All three of these challenges and their interrelationships may lead to …

The Effect Of Regulatory Focus On Idea Generation And Idea Evaluation, Kanexa, Inc., Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Regulatory focus, an individual difference characteristic, has been linked to decision making, such that those with a promotion focus show more risk taking and flexibility whereas those with a prevention focus are risk averse and more rigid. The relationship between regulatory focus and creativity has also been investigated, with similar results. However, the focus of these efforts has been on the idea generation phase (e.g., Friedman & Forster, 2001; Lam & Chiu, 2002). This study suggests that the influence of regulatory focus on creativity operates differently for the idea evaluation phase than with the idea generation phase. Furthermore, there are …

Developing And Managing I-O Online: What’S Behind The Virtual Classroom?, Maura J. Mills, Patrick A. Knight, Kurt Kraiger, William F. Mayer, Kathryn Lafontana

Psychology Faculty Publications

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of courses and degree programs offered online. This is particularly true in the field of industrial and organizational psychology, wherein many students are working professionals who, while unable to leave their jobs, are seeking convenient ways to supplement their experience with the necessary education. Despite this surge in student interest, many educators lack explicit training in making the transition to online education. Here, a variety of individuals experienced in various aspects of developing online I-O degree programs—both undergraduate and graduate—discuss best practices for such a program as well as …

Work Intensity And Substance Use Among Adolescents Employed Part-Time In Entry-Level Jobs, Jessica Samuolis

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study investigated the relationship between number of hours worked, or work intensity, and substance use in a sample of adolescent employees of a supermarket chain. Employees working half-time or more per week (high-intensity hours) were over three times as likely to smoke compared to those working an average of 10 hours or less per week (low-intensity hours). Males working a high intensity number of hours were more than twice as likely to drink compared to males working at low intensity. Utilizing participants drawn from a uniform employment setting, the research findings add to the growing body of evidence linking …

Inclusive Leadership And Employee Involvement In Creative Tasks In The Workplace: The Mediating Role Of Psychological Safety, Abraham Carmeli, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Enbal Ziv

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examines how inclusive leadership (manifested by openness, accessibility, and availability of a leader) fosters employee creativity in the workplace. Using a sample of one hundred and fifty employees, we investigated the relationship between inclusive leadership (measured at Time 1), psychological safety and employee involvement in creative work tasks (measured at Time 2). The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis indicate that inclusive leadership is positively related to psychological safety, which, in turn, engenders employee involvement in creative work.

Exploring Asynchronous Brainstorming In Large Groups: A Field Comparison Of Serial And Parallel Subgroups, Gert-Jan De Vreede, Robert O. Briggs, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: To compare the results of two different modes of using multiple groups (instead of one large group) in order to identify problems and develop solutions.

Background: Many of the complex problems facing organizations today require the use of very large groups or collaborations of groups from multiple organizations. There are many logistical problems associated with the use of such large groups including the ability to bring everyone together at the same time and location.

Methods: A field study involving two different organizations, comparing productivity and satisfaction of group. The approaches included a) multiple small groups, each completing the entire …

Inclusive Leadership And Employee Involvement In Creative Tasks In The Workplace: The Mediating Role Of Psychological Safety, Abraham Carmeli, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Enbal Ziv

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examines how inclusive leadership (manifested by openness, accessibility, and availability of a leader) fosters employee creativity in the workplace. Using a sample of 150 employees, we investigated the relationship between inclusive leadership (measured at Time 1), psychological safety, and employee involvement in creative work tasks (measured at Time 2). The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis indicate that inclusive leadership is positively related to psychological safety, which, in turn, engenders employee involvement in creative work.

Conscientiousness Is Not Always A Good Predictor Of Performance: The Case Of Creativity, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Jody J. Illies, Lisa M. Kobe-Cross

Psychology Faculty Publications

Meta-analyses investigating the relationship between Conscientiousness and performance suggest a positive relationship for a variety of criteria. However, recently it has been argued that Conscientiousness is not always a good predictor of performance, particularly for creative performance. Additionally, it has been suggested that Conscientiousness includes two distinct components, achievement and dependability, which may have different relationships with criterion measures. Two studies were conducted to determine whether the components of Conscientiousness predict creativity better than the full factor. Students in each study completed a measure of the Five Factor Model and a measure of creative performance. In the first study, creative …

Creativity And Domain Specificity: The Effect Of Task Type On Multiple Indexes Of Creative Problem-Solving, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Marcy Young Illies, Toleo, Infousa, Oriental Trading Co.

Psychology Faculty Publications

The study addresses the issue of domain specificity within creativity by understanding the characteristics of creative tasks and how participants react to the task. One hundred and eighty seven participants were given one of three realistic everyday problems to solve. The problems differed in terms of complexity, involvement, and problem-based efficacy. Problem solutions were evaluated on several measures of creativity. Results indicate that creativity was influenced by the type of problem solved and the measure of creativity used to evaluate the solution. Further, these results were obtained after controlling for the effect of ability. Results imply that not all real-world …

Problem Identification And Construction: What Do We Know, What Is The Future?, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Erika J. Robinson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Many cognitive process theories of creativity include an initial process of problem identification, definition, and construction. Previous research suggests that problem identification and construction is related to creativity, and that creative individuals and experts tend to engage in problem identification and construction. Finally, previous research suggests that inducing active engagement in problem identification and construction, through instructions or training, facilitates creativity. In this paper we further offer our views regarding important future direction for researchers in this area. Specifically, issues regarding methodology, the relationship between personality and values and how problems are constructed, and problem identification and construction in teams …