Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

Using Personality Traits To Select Customer-Oriented Security Guards, Tracy Marie Shega

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The customer orientation of current security guards was assessed using both the newly developed Customer Orientation Scale and IPIP items. Specifically, the Big Five factors of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability were measured. Scores on these two customer orientation scales were compared to measures of job satisfaction and perceived job-ability fit.

Same Fight, Different Player: An Insight Into Culture, Information Sharing, And Team Performance, Cecily Mccoy-Fisher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among culture, information sharing, and performance among culturally-homogeneous NATO Officer teams. Forty-eight teams participated from five countries, namely, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and USA. Teams of four participants were randomly assigned to a role and the task was an interdependent computer-based mission using an adapted version of Neverwinter Nights™ (Bioware, 2003), where they had to communicate among teammates and with non-human players to find weapons caches and other mission objectives. Not one individual had all of the information needed to perform the tasks; thus, they needed to share information with …

On A First Name Basis: Effects Of African American Sounding First Names On The Hiring Decision, Shayna Brown

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

A controlled experiment contributes to our understanding of the hiring disparity by examining the effect of applicant race and type of applicant first name on hiring decisions. Two- hundred and five participants acted as mock hiring managers and reviewed an application and resume, completed an evaluation of the applicant’s job related characteristics, and made hiring and starting salary recommendations. Measures for stereotype and race activation were also included. Neither applicant race nor applicant name type affected participants’ ratings of job related characteristics such as perceived motivation, intellectual ability, ability to work well with others, and potential in the field. Results …

Development Of A Pilot Selection System For A Midwestern University Aviation Program, Kathryn Wilson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This paper discusses the evaluation of an existing selection system for a Midwestern University's Aviation Program and attempts to find significant predictors of pilot performance using personality measures including the Five Factor Scale, Cockpit Management Attitudes Questionnaire, Self Monitoring Scale, an Integrity Scale, and cognitive measures including Block Counting, Rotated Blocks and Numerical Reasoning. Data from 24 student pilots was examined with bivariate correlations and stepwise regression and results indicate personality plays a role in predicting successful pilot performance. The CMAQ, extraversion and block counting measures were positively correlated with facets of performance including decision making in-flight, consistently arriving on-time …

An Investigation Of Online Unproctored Testing And Cheating Motivations Using Equity Theory And Theory Of Planned Behavior, Valerie Nicole Brophy

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The prominence of unproctored online testing in selection has caused researchers and practitioners to turn their attention to the possibility of cheating and methods of detecting and decreasing it. Past research has shown that separately both equity theory and theory of planned behavior can predict maleficent behaviors. This study combines both of these theories--with equity theory as an operationalization of the precedents of theory of planned behavior--in attempt to predict past cheating behaviors. The present study aims to give selection professionals a framework by which to understand the motivations behind cheating on pre-employment tests. Equity sensitivity findings were limited due …

Race, Gender, And Leadership Promotion: The Moderating Effect Of Social Dominance Orientation, Chelsea Chatham

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The current study aims to examine the effects that applicant race and gender have on ratings of promotability for a leadership role. The current study will also investigate the role that Social Dominance Orientation, an individual difference variable that reflects attitudes towards intergroup relations being equal or not, plays in attitudes towards a candidate's promotability. 213 participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a 2 (candidates race: Caucasian vs. African-American) × 2 (candidates gender: male vs. female) factorial design and asked to assess the promotability of the candidate based on a brief work history and interview responses. …

Disentangling Individual, Organization, And Learning Process Factors That Drive Employee Participation, Diana Colangelo

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The current paper aims to understand the antecedents that predict employee participation in professional development activities. The primary objective of this study is to provide additional empirical support to the Wang and Wang (2004) theoretical model of factors that influence employee participation in learning and development activities and provide an integration of other factors from the literature. Data were collected from non-faculty staff of a large statewide college system that took part in an employee development survey assessing factors related to development, including age, level in organization, supervisor support, organizational support, policy support, and learning process factors. Results indicate that …

Will [email protected] Get The Job Done? An Analysis Of Employees' Email Usernames, Turnover, And Job Performance, Jessica Marie Lillegaard

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The job application process is changing, so personal identifiers, such as email usernames are becoming a potential source of information on job applicants. Previous research presented in this paper shows people do not randomly choose their email, but it is a reflection of their personality. Blackhurst, Congemi, Meyer, and Sachau (2011) found email usernames could also explain some differences in pre-employment assessment measures. The present study coded 16,258 email usernames using the coding scheme developed by Blackhurst et al. (2011). Using tenure, termination, and job performance data provided by a large multinational customer service organization, the present study would examine …

Mobile Internet Testing: Applicant Reactions To Mobile Internet Testing, Sarah Smeltzer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

With the introduction and popularity of using mobile devices to access the internet, mobile-based pre-employment assessments are becoming increasingly common. Previous research suggests that mobile-based assessments are both valid and equivalent to computer based assessments and have no adverse impact. The current study was intended to examine applicant reactions to mobile-based assessments. Findings indicate that using a smartphone to complete a pre-employment assessment had no effect on biodata and personality measures scores. Applicants also reported that using a smartphone interfered with their opportunity to perform, and that they would prefer to complete assessments on a computer. Furthermore, the option of …

The Effect Of Environmental And Psychological Coping Resources On Unemployed Adults' Well-Being, Robert Paul Carnicella

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Gowan and Gatewood's (1997) theory of coping with job loss provided a framework for studying how individuals cope with the stress of unemployment. Previous empirical evidence identified social support and financial resources as predictors of unemployed adults' coping outcomes. McKee-Ryan, Song, Wanberg, and Kinicki (2005), however, noted the need for further research to better understand the environmental and psychological coping resources used by unemployed adults. Savickas (2005) hypothesized that individuals who endorse greater amounts of adaptable thinking about their careers will also report a greater sense of well-being during career transitions. Thus, the present study examined how environmental and psychological …

Determinants Of Child Labor In Malawi And Tanzania, Courage C. Mudzongo, Christopher M. Whitsel

Faculty Publications - Psychology Department

Using the Malawi Integrated Household Survey of 2009 and the Tanzania National Panel Survey of 2010, this study seeks to understand the factors that increase a child`s likelihood of labor participation. A greater percentage of children in the Tanzania sample than those from the Malawi sample participate in child labor. Logistic regression analyses showed that, as hypothesized, the greatest influence on child labor observed at the individual level is the child`s school enrollment status. Enrollment reduces the likelihood of engaging in child labor in both countries. When tested in the combined model older children in Tanzania remain at higher risk …

Designing Work, Family & Health Organizational Change Initiatives, Ellen Ernst Kossek, Leslie B. Hammer, Erin L. Kelly, Phyllis Moen

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we describe the development of the most comprehensive work-family organizational change initiative to date in the United States. Our goal is to share an in-depth case study with examples and critical lessons that emerged. We draw on our years of experience working with major employers from two industries representative of today’s workforce (health care and IT professionals). Employers and applied researchers can draw on this study and lessons to create, customize, and deliver evidence-based interventions to improve work, family and health.

An Integrative, Multilevel, And Transdisciplinary Research Approach To Challenges Of Work, Family, And Health, Jeremy W. Bray, Erin L. Kelly, Leslie B. Hammer, David M. Almeida, James W. Dearing, Rosalind B. King, Orfeu Buxton

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recognizing a need for rigorous, experimental research to support the efforts of workplaces and policymakers in improving the health and wellbeing of employees and their families, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formed the Work, Family & Health Network (WFHN). The WFHN is implementing an innovative multisite study with a rigorous experimental design (adaptive randomization, control groups), comprehensive multilevel measures, a novel and theoretically based intervention targeting the psychosocial work environment, and translational activities. This paper describes challenges and benefits of designing a multilevel and transdisciplinary research network that includes an effectiveness study …

Positive Workplace Dynamics: A Qualitative Exploration Of Exceptional Performance In Community College Units, R. Michael Stapleton

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

In this companion dissertation findings are reported of applied case study research on four community college organizational units that consistently meet or exceed standard performance measures. Ample prior evidence confirmed that performance extended significantly beyond what might be explained by available tangible resources alone. The case study contexts are common in higher education in general: a) an external partnership, (b) an ad hoc team, (c) a traditional, cross-divisional service unit, and (d) a grant-funded student service unit.

Emerging positive organizational theory and research shows promise for revealing performance-influencing phenomena and behaviors that are not adequately represented in standard measures. Therefore, …

Social Networks, Individual Orientations, And Employee Innovation Outcomes: A Multi-Theoretical Perspective, Travis J. Grosser

Theses and Dissertations--Management

I examine individual innovation in organizations from a social network perspective. I employ two theoretical lenses to examine innovation outcomes in three separate empirical studies. First, I use a sociopolitical framework to examine how political skill and social network structure interact to predict successful innovation initiation and, ultimately, career success. I find that innovation initiation mediates the relationship between political skill and career success. Moreover, structural holes in employees’ social networks moderate the mediated relationship between political skill and career success such that the relationship is stronger for employees with many structural holes in their social network. Second, I use …

Employee Engagement, Job Attitudes, And Work Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Test Of The Incremental Validity Of Employee Engagement, Nick Koenig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although the commercially-popular construct of employee engagement has gained attention in scholarly work in recent years, several questions about the construct remain unresolved. In the current paper, I addressed several issues with previous engagement research by (a) meta-analyzing the relationship between employee engagement, task performance, contextual performance, absenteeism, and turnover, (b) using these meta-analytic estimates to fit a series of models in which engagement predicts both specific and broadly-defined work behaviors, and (c) estimating the unique predictive validity of engagement above and beyond job attitudes. Several regression equations and structural equation models were tested using a combination of previous meta-analytic …

The Challenges Of Young-Typed Jobs And How Older Workers Adapt, Michael Reeves

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to explore the challenges faced by older workers who do not fit the age-type of their jobs and how older workers adapt to overcome those challenges. Specifically, I surveyed a national sample of 227 workers 50 years of age and older, in a wide variety of jobs, on measures of perceived age discrimination and adaptation behaviors. I found that fit, as determined by career timetables theory, but not prototype matching theory, successfully predicted perceived age discrimination. Specifically, more age discrimination was perceived when fewer older workers occupied a job. Additionally, multiple regression analysis showed that career timetables …

Conflict In Virtually Distributed Teams, Budd Darling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this paper was two-fold. The first was to investigate the impact of conflict as a mediator in the relationship between distribution and team performance. The second was to examine how that relationship was affected by virtuality. Four-member teams of different distributions (partially distributed, fully distributed, and fully collocated) and different virtuality conditions (videoconferencing, teleconferencing, and chat) played a team-oriented game. Significant results were found only in the videoconferencing condition, in which both distribution and task conflict had a negative impact on team performance, but task conflict did not mediate the relationship between distribution and team performance. Further …

Where's The Boss? The Influences Of Emergent Team Leadership Structures On Team Outcomes In Virtual And Distributed Environments, Marissa Shuffler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The influence of leadership on team success has been noted extensively in research and practice. However, as organizations move to flatter team based structures with workers communicating virtually across space and time, our conceptualization of team leadership must change to meet these new workplace demands. Given this need, the current study aims to begin untangling the effects of distribution and virtuality on team leadership structure and subsequent team outcomes that may be affected by differences in conceptualizing such structures. Specifically, the goals of this study were threefold. First, this study investigated how the physical distribution of members may impact perceptions …

How Emoticons Affect Leader-Member Exchange, Jennifer Loglia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emoticons have been shown to be the nonverbal cues of computer-mediated communication and could therefore be a rich source of information, but they are not used in the workplace because they are considered unprofessional. This study aimed to look at the effects of emoticons on relationships, specifically between a leader and member. Participants were asked to read a fake email from a fake boss and answer several questions in regard to leader-member exchange, affective presence, perceived message positivity, perceived masculinity/femininity of the fake boss, and perceived professionalism. This study found that the use of a positive emoticon in an email …