Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

Understanding The Relationship Between Perfectionism And Health: Mediational Effects Drug Use, Sarah Nelsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Past research has provided evidence on the consequences of perfectionism. One particular consequence of perfectionism is that of general health. Research has suggested that perfectionism type influences general mental health. Using the 3-cluster perspective of perfectionism by Slaney, Rice, Mobley, Trippi, & Ashby (2001), the current work investigates the mediating effects of drug use on the relationship between perfectionism clusters and general mental health, in the context of Conservation of Resources Theory (COR; Hobfoll, 1989). Adaptive perfectionists had higher general mental health compared to non-perfectionists and maladaptive perfectionists. However, the three clusters of perfectionism did not differ in drug use …

The Role Of Interrole Transitioning In The Conflict And Enrichment Of Work And Family, John Paul Agosta

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study focuses on how full-time, sandwiched workers (i.e., those who are dual-caregivers, providing care to both their children and elders) experience interrole transitioning from both the work and family roles, and tests whether affective reactions to transitioning relate to work and family outcomes. This study has three specific objectives: 1) assess the extent to which bi-directional interrole transitioning (i.e., the switching between two different roles while located in one role) predicts bi-directional work-family conflict; 2) examine if interrole transitioning relates to bi-directional work-family enrichment in this population, and 3) test whether or not employees’ affective reactions to interrole transitioning …

Leadership, Empowerment, And Motivation: An Analysis Of Modern Management, Patrick J. Myers

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of management in organizations and, specifically, look at the overlap between management and leadership with a particular focus on empowerment. With considerations of previous literature, current examples, and a case study interview, this literature seeks to solidify the importance of leadership by managers in the workplace. Furthermore, it seeks to highlight the role of empowerment, presented by the leader and experienced by followers, in creating a thriving workplace built on culture and trust. Lastly, the literature aims to better understand the motivations of the modern employee to provide potential areas …

Dynamic Motivation To Lead: Construct Validity Of Motivation To Lead, Leya Aronoff

CMC Senior Theses

Although motivation to lead (MTL) was characterized as stable, recent research suggested otherwise. This study explored the malleability of MTL and its predictors. Individuals with high affective-identity MTL are motivated to lead because they enjoy leading. Individuals with high social normative MTL are motivated by an obligation to lead. Individuals with high noncalculative MTL are drawn to leadership because they avoid weighing the costs and benefits of leading. Applicants to a California college were sent a questionnaire on MTL and leadership self-efficacy (LSE) (Time 1 assessment, N = 2704). Four years later (Time 2), participants who responded at Time 1 …

Who Is Better And Who Is Best? What Differentiates Stars From The Rest, Montana R. Woolley

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Star employees have significant influences on the successes or failures of organizations. Current research on stars has not addressed who a star is or how stars are different from other good employees. In this study I tested the efficacy of a proposed definition of star employees and verified the accuracy of other previously established characteristics and behaviors associated with stars. In addition, I qualitatively explored managers’ perceptions of star employees. The study consisted of two separate samples: managers identified on MTurk (n = 40) and high-level executives from various industries (n = 46). Participants provided a series of open responses …

The Role Of Resilience On Second-Victim Outcomes: Examining Individual And External Factors Of Medical Professionals, Claudia Hernandez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present work is intended to bring awareness to medical professionals impacted by the occurrence of errors they have committed or witnessed (i.e., second-victims) and highlight the negative effects that may result from such errors. The purpose of this research is to test whether resilience and negative affect that is experienced after a medical error are related. Additionally, four variables are tested as moderators of this relationship, two of which are considered individual variables (i.e., self-efficacy and work meaningfulness), and two of which are characterized as external variables (i.e., co-worker support and organizational support). Twenty-two healthcare professionals from a hospital's …

Predictors Of Territorial Work Behavior: An Investigation Of Individual Differences In Personality Using The Hexaco Model, Andrew White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To date, little research has examined the relationship between territorial work behavior and individual differences in personality. Using hierarchical multiple regression, dimension-level and facet-level personality traits of the HEXACO model of personality were examined to determine whether personality traits predict territorial work behaviors. Based on a sample of 160 workers from Amazon's Mechanical Turk, it was observed that the dimensions of Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Openness to Experience, and Altruism predicted territorial work behaviors. In addition, facet-level traits from these dimensions, in addition to facets from the Extraversion and Agreeableness dimension, explained variance in each of the territorial behaviors. Furthermore, quantile regression …

Conceptualizing The Role Of Severity In Counterproductive Work Behavior: Predicting Employee Engagement In Minor And Severe Cwbs, Katherine Ciarlante

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) have been identified as pervasive employee behaviors with the potential to cause significant harm in the workplace (e.g., Sackett & DeVore, 2001). Because of the considerable threat CWBs pose to organizational and employee well-being, a literature has emerged to better understand the structure of these behaviors and identify the factors and conditions that effect employee engagement in counterproductive acts. While past research has distinguished between types of CWBs, i.e., theft, sabotage, withdrawal, less attention has been paid to the specific forms these behaviors take. For example, being two hours late to work is more serious and …

The Creation And Validation Of A Compromising Scale For Nurses, Matthew Ng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For reasons such as job context and different interactions, compromising as performed by nurses is likely fundamentally different than compromising performed by other occupations. The following study proposes the creation and validation of a compromising scale for nurses. The first study aims to create the compromising scale for nurses through contemporary methods then test the reliability as well as the factor structure using an exploratory factor analysis on currently employed nurses recruited through a Qualtrics panel study. The second study then takes the final compromising scale for nurses and conducts a confirmatory factor analysis among a sample of employed nurses …

The Use Of Personality Testing In Personnel Selection, Riya Kumar

CMC Senior Theses

Research has shown that more than 45% of American companies are opting to integrate personality tests in their recruitment processes. Given this surge in personality testing, this thesis examines whether personality testing is a valid predictor of job-fit and performance in the context of personnel selection. A large proportion of this paper is focused upon the Big-Five factor model, its limitations, and derivative tests of the model. The impact of technology upon personality testing is also discussed as an emerging field. By tracing and examining the history of personality testing to current day, I have found that personality tests are …

The Changing Nature Of Work, Leadership, And Organizational Culture In Future Ready Organizations, Saloni Dhir

CMC Senior Theses

Abstract

The relationship between individual and organizational performance is a key challenge for leaders in modern organizations, especially with the current disruption in technology and innovation. This thesis is a literature review and compilation of the relevant empirical evidence on various processes of industrial groups and organizational characteristics such as the changing nature of work, leadership, and company culture in detail. I investigate the complex challenges that millennials and organizations are facing in the current VUCA work environment as well as their potential responses to these changes. I map out the evolution of the concept of work and compare changes …

Why Empirical Studies Of The Groupthink Model Have Failed, Nolan Rajakumar

CMC Senior Theses

The theory of groupthink has been highly beneficial in the study of how groups make decisions. It has permeated almost every field containing decision making groups. Despite its popularity, there has been a surprising lack of empirical support for the model. It is the aim of this paper to suggest a possible explanation for the current state of groupthink research. First the groupthink model is described briefly, followed by a look at several selected empirical and case studies of groupthink. A potential reason for the dearth of empirical is then proposed along with a suggestion for future groupthink research.

Finding Balance Between The Needs For Conformity And Individuality: An Exploration Of Identity, C.C. Schwab

CMC Senior Theses

Just as society has changed a lot within the past 100 years, the concept of identity has also evolved significantly. A big factor in the evolution of identity has been the realization that social and group phenomena influence all conceptualizations of identity. In this review, I explore identity through the lens of Optimal Distinctiveness theory (ODT), which proposes that humans have two opposing social motives (distinctiveness and inclusiveness) that position them amidst an internal battle over identity.

I start by defining identity and the self, including the distinction between the two. Next, I explore identity formation and different types of …

Evaluation Of Wildland Firefighter Leadership, Rebecca Rose

All Master's Theses

There has been growing research evaluating hazardous occupations to gain a better understanding of how crisis leaders and followers, such as wildland firefighters make decisions in high-stress environments. In this study, wildland firefighters were examined to assess their decision-making skills using a wildland fire simulation computer game called the Networked Fire Chief (NFC). These results were compared against both the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the Big Five personality traits using Saucier’s abbreviated Mini-Markers. Only a small sample of wildland firefighters was available to participate due to the intense 2017 fire season. Additional participants were recruited through CWU Sona system. Results …

Ecological Rationality: Fast-And-Frugal Heuristics For Managerial Decision Making Under Uncertainty, Shenghua Luan, Jochen Reb, Gerd Gigerenzer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Heuristics are often viewed as inferior to “rational” strategies that exhaustively search and process information. Introducing the theoretical perspective of ecological rationality, we challenge this view and argue that under conditions of uncertainty common to managerial decision making, managers can actually make better decisions using fast-and-frugal heuristics. Within the context of personnel selection, we show that a heuristic called Δ-inference can more accurately predict which of two job applicants would perform better in the future than logistic regression, a prototypical rational strategy. Using data from 236 applicants at an airline company, we demonstrate in Study 1 that despite searching less …

Human Performance In Manufacturing Tasks: Optimization And Assessment Of Required Workload And Capabilities, Maria Chiara Leva, Lorenzo Comberti, Micaela Demichela, Alberto Caimo

Conference papers

This paper discusses some examples where human performance and or human error prediction was achieved by using a modified version of the Rasch model(1980), where the probability of a specified outcome is modelled as a logistic function of the difference between the person capacity and item difficulty. The model needs to be modified to take into account an outcome that may not be dichotomous and o take into account the interaction between two macro factors: (a) Task complexity: that summarises all factors contributing to physical and mental workload requirements for execution of a given operative task & (b) Human capability: …

The Buffering Role Of Character Virtues On The Relationship Between Burnout And Its Antecedents, Allison Bachmann

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project explores the relationship between character virtues and burnout among student employees. It reviews and elaborates on the previous research findings in positive psychology and uses existing research on human virtues in order to further study their relationship with burnout. In exchange for extra course credit, students completed an online survey comprised of a demographic questionnaire and measures of character virtues, burnout, job control, and work overload. Analysis of the results focused on the specific virtues of courage and transcendence and the burnout antecedents of work overload, and lack of control. A multiple regression analysis was used to determine …

Antecedents Of Voice: The Moderating Role Of Proactive Personality, Alice Pyclik

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When employees are dissatisfied, they can choose a destructive solution such as quitting, or they can use voice to effect organizational change. A sample of 277 full-time employees in the United States responded to an online survey of voice, ethical leadership, core self-evaluation, proactive personality, affective commitment, and several control variables. Results from simple, multiple, and hierarchical regression analyses indicated that ethical leadership, core self-evaluation, and proactive personality have positive relationships with voice. In addition, ethical leadership facilitates voice through the path of affective commitment. Proactive personality compensates for low levels of affective commitment. Thus, managers can increase voice among …

Stop What You’Re Doing, Right Now! Effects Of Interactive Messages On Careless Responding, Anthony Gibson

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Careless responding (CR) can negatively affect the quality of self-report data and thus the resulting conclusions researchers draw from the data. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether interactive warnings, which alert careless respondents in real time, reduce CR more than traditional, non-interactive warnings. I used a 4 x 4 mixed factorial design to examine these relationships. The between group factor was the type of warning used, which consisted of four levels (i.e., a control, no warning group, a traditional, non-interactive warning, an interactive threatening warning message, and an interactive encouraging message), and the within person factor …

Gauging Human Performance With An Automated Aid In Low Prevalence Conditions, Cara M. Zinn

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When receiving assistance from an automated aid, human operators do not necessarily perform better than without the automated aid. The current work explored the impact of integrating the automated aid with the task information in low prevalence conditions. Specifically, this work compares displays where the automated aid was integrated with task information in general or with more meaningful task information. Subjects performed a speeded judgment task with the assistance of an automated aid, varying in display type, difficulty, and prevalence. Results indicated that there was no effect of display type or prevalence on human temporal performance, and that the effect …

Identifying Diversity Of Thought On Social Media, Beth Bullemer

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This dissertation considers what it means to think differently, using naturalistic verbal evidence. This problem is inspired by a gap within the Wisdom of the Crowd (WoC) literature, but relevant to the study of language processes, mental models, and the vast emerging resource of social media data. I propose a methodological framework to characterize diversity of thought through the quantification of social media data. Four stages of research considered: a) the properties of a sample domain, b) how to identify and select diagnostic content using classification methods, c) how to quantify qualitative content in order to categorize and compare individuals, …

A Situational Judgment Test Of Self-Control And Its Relationship To Academic Performance: Development Of A New Measure, Michael Brady

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Personality has been extensively researched but the literature has not lived up to its potential for application. Personality variables such as self-control can identify qualified applicants, while minimizing adverse impact. I designed two SJT measure of self-control. The first SJT was hypothesized to predict college grade point average. The second SJT was hypothesized to predict counterproductive work behavior. I administered the first SJT to 676 undergraduates. I administered the second SJT to 608 employed people. Most hypotheses were fully supported. Both SJTs had incremental validity over and above self-report personality measures. The results demonstrate the potential of SJTs to measure …

Prevalence Visual Search: Optimal Performance And The Description-Experience Gap, Hanshu Zhang

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Real-world visual search differs significantly from the laboratory task. One distinct feature is that most targets in real-world visual search are low prevalence. Considering the important practical connections between the laboratory study and applied research, there has been a resurgence in exploring prevalence effects on visual search performance, especially the effect that targets are more likely to be missed when they have low prevalence. Though there is a consensus that target misses are due to a liberal criterion, previous studies failed to consider the potentiality of optimal performance from the perspective of Signal Detection Theory, which also predicts a the …

Spatialized Auditory And Vibrotactile Cueing For Dynamic Three-Dimensional Visual Search, Rachel J. Cunio

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The traditional method of maintaining spatial awareness through visual displays can cause visual system overload and lead to performance decrements. This study examined the benefits of spatialized auditory, tactile, and audio-tactile cues for maintaining awareness as a method of enhancing visual search performance. I examined visual search performance in an immersive, dynamic, three-dimensional (360-degree), virtual reality environment with no cues, spatialized auditory cues, degraded spatialized auditory cues, spatialized tactile cues, spatialized audio-tactile cues, and degraded spatialized auditory with tactile cues. Results indicated a significant reduction in visual search time from the no-cue condition when any cues were presented. The tactile …

Neurobehavioral Effects Of Multi-Tasking, Elizabeth Lynn Fox

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The progression of technology and adaptive automation has shown tremendous promise in reducing both physical and mental task demands, while allowing the maintenance or improvement of overall performance. Consequently, a user is able to maintain task performance with relatively more ease and reallocate spare time and energy to additional tasks. Quantifying the resources that one has left is an ongoing, relatively open, research objective for human factors psychologists. Here, we created a standardized, individual-level metric to serve as an estimate of multi-tasking efficiency. We go beyond just rank-order, or categorical labels of suffering from, benefiting from, or adequately maintaining performance …

Learned Helplessness In Industrial-Organizational Psychology: Relationships With Locus Of Control, Self-Efficacy, And Feedback-Seeking Behavior, Nicholas Kovacs

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Researchers have suggested that self-efficacy and feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) are effective in enhancing performance. To improve performance in the workplace, research should focus on how psychologists can enhance these constructs in employees. Though locus of control (LOC) relates to self-efficacy and increased FSB, research has revealed issues in LOC (e.g., failure to predict performance, range restriction, failure to predict behaviors). The current study examined the effects of perceived “lack of control”, learned helplessness, over LOC on both self-efficacy and FSB in two different samples: a student sample (N = 321) and a work sample (N = 794). Learned helplessness accounted …

The Effect Of Emotional Competencies On Team Functioning, Morgan R. Borders

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Collaboration, cohesion, and trust within teams can lead to beneficial outcomes such as innovation, speed of innovation delivery, enhanced creativity, and improved performance. Because of the prevalence of teams in the workforce, it is important that teams function at their highest capacity. One way to enhance team functioning may be to improve emotional intelligence (EI) in team members. Research has shown that higher EI is related to individual benefits such as stress resilience, better communication, relationship satisfaction, and improved performance. Team benefits of higher EI include greater cohesion, cooperation, trust, and performance. This study examined whether an emotional competency training …

The Development Of A Lexicon For The Communication Of Action In Cooperative Work, Claire Supriya Shah

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This research expands upon the research conducted by Clark and Wilkes-Gibbs (1986) on how individuals collaborate and reach common ground in the domain of objects into the domain of action. Pairs of participants (N = 22) were asked to complete a set of six maneuvers with a remote-control car. Dialogue was transcribed and analyzed for total word count, verb phrase count, number of turns taken, number of errors committed, and selected other linguistic characteristics. Total word count, verb phrase count, number of turns taken, and number of errors committed all significantly decreased over time, either linearly or logarithmically. This research …

Using Eeg To Examine The Top Down Effects On Visual Object Processing, Joseph D. Borders

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Object recognition entails a complex interplay between top-down and bottom-up signals. Yet, limited research has investigated the mechanisms through which top-down processes, such as task context and behavioral goals impact the neural basis of visual object processing. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we studied the temporal dynamics of task and object processing to identify how early the impact of task can be observed. We recorded ERPs from participants as they viewed object images from four categories spanning animacy (Inanimate: roller-skate, motorbike; Animate: cow, butterfly) and size (Large: motorbike, cow; Small: roller-skate, butterfly) dimensions under four task conditions comprising conceptual (naturalness, size) and …

Creating A Well-Situated Human-Autonomy Team: The Effects Of Team Structure, Elizabeth Marie Frost

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Intelligent agent technologies are increasing the potential capacity for systems to behave more autonomously and are enabling more advanced human-autonomy teaming. For instance, future applications of human-autonomy teaming for the command and control of unmanned vehicles are now under consideration. This would involve a shift from a supervisory control approach to a teaming structure. These two approaches, instantiated as the task division and relationship between a human operator and a teammate, were empirically examined. The team’s composition, either human-human or human-autonomy, was also considered. A control station that supports single operator management of multiple simulated unmanned vehicles performing a base …