Gedrag & Organisatie - Volume 17, Issue 4, 2004

Grow or maintain? The effects of task referenced target or avoidance goals on performance and task interest in the context of an assessment centre

Jacob Nauta, Nico. W. Van Yperen & Alec W. Serlie, Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 17, August 2004, nr. 4, pp. 227-241.

The effects of task referenced target goals or avoidance goals on performance and task interest were studied in the context of an assessment centre (AC). The sample (N = 171) consists of candidates for an individual assessment programme. Results confirm the anticipated positive effect of target goals on task interest that was entirely mediated by concerted intention. In addition, the anticipated negative effect of avoidance goals on task interest and perceived competence, mediated by cognitive fear of testing, were confirmed. Contrary to expectation no relationships were found between performance goals and actual performance (as assessed by a professional assessor). The results contribute to new knowledge in respect to recently introduced task referenced avoidance goals, replicate previously found effects of target goals in a new work related research setting and underline the imporance of the distinction between task referenced target and avoidance goals.

Social perception as entrance for systemwide organizational change: Change through a social constructionist' strategy

A.T.M. van Nistelrooij, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 17, august 2004, nr. 4, p. 242-521

By developing a strategy that links up with normative-re-educative assumptions of the Organization Development approach this article tries to extend the understanding of producing intentional change from a social-constructionist' perspective. This strategy is based on unfolding a dialogue with the whole system. A social-constructionist' approach respects the unique reality of each stakeholder, pays attention to the context, emphasises the symmetric and mutual nature of dialogue in which meanings are (re-)produced. The article points out that one of the most basic mechanism of realizing change is to discover in a conversational process that the interpretation that someone else puts on a concept is different from one's own. Regarding the planned change nature of OD there are some implications for the way a dialogue should be organized, the role of management and the selection of a suiting intervention method.

Mental fatigue and goal-oriented behaviour: effects of task context on behaviour guidance

Dimitri van der Linden, Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 17, August 2004, nr. 4, pp. 252-271.

As mental fatigue is related to performance and safety, it has received considerable interest from researchers in work psychology. Nevertheless, much is unknown about the specific way fatigue affects task behaviour and performance. In the current article we argue that fatigue affects behaviour through a decreased impact of conscious goals and behavioural rules on choice of actions. This would manifest itself as a diminished cognitive flexibility and as difficulties in executing or initiating planning. We present two experiments in which we investigate whether fatigue-induced participants show less flexibility and planning than non-fatigued participants. In experiment 1 (n = 65), participants had to explore a computer application unfamiliar to them. In experiment 2 (n = 58) participants worked on standard neuropsychological tests that assessed flexibility and planning. The results of both experiments showed that, compared to the non-fatigued participants, fatigue participants were less flexible and displayed less effective or less efficient planning. These results support the idea of decreased influence of conscious goals and rules under fatigue. This conclusion has practical implications for as it may support the prediction and prevention of fatigue-related errors and accidents.

Enthusiasm and charismatic leadership: a scenario experiment

Frederic Damen, Barbara van Knippenberg & Daan van Knippenberg, Gedrag & Organisatie, Volume 17, August 2004, pp. 272-288.

Analyses of leadership, in particular of charismatic leadership, mention the display and transference of emotions of the leader, especially enthusiasm, as important ingredients of charismatic leadership. Quantitative support, however, for the role of emotions in general is scarce, whereas quantitative support for the role of enthusiasm is lacking. In this paper a model of leadership emotions is presented, which focuses on the effects of enthusiasm of the leader on the perceptions of the followers ,as well as on the process underlying these effects.

A scenario experiment showed that enthusiastic leaders are perceived as being more charismatic than relaxed leaders and this effect was mediated by translation of (self reported) arousal. Charisma was found to function as a mediator in the relationship between arousal and perceived leader effectiveniss. The model therefore implies that an enthusiastic leader transfers more arousal tot followers than a relaxed leader. This transfer of arousal leads to higher perceived charisma of the leader and therefore implies that an enthusiastic leade transfers more arousal to followers than a relaxed leader. This transfer of arousal leads to higher perceived charisma of the leader and therefore, ultimately, to a higher perceived leader effectiveness.

Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology geeft een gebruikersvriendelijke introductie in de belangrijkste onderzoeksmethoden en statistische procedures die worden gebruikt in psychologisch onderzoek.

Leiderschap en macht vormen de kern van het functioneren in groepen in allerlei soorten omgevingen. Zelfs de meest informele groepen kennen wel een of andere vorm van leiderschap. Het begrijpen van leiderschap en macht vanuit een psychologisch perspectief leidt waarschijnlijk tot betere kennis over groepsdynamica zowel binnen als buiten de werkomgeving.

De psychologie van arbeid en gezondheid is een leerboek dat in 22 hoofdstukken een compleet, systematisch en up-to-date overzicht van de stand van zaken in de Arbeid- & Gezondheids(A&G)psychologie geeft. Het boek omvat vijf delen. In de eerste vier delen wordt achtereenvolgens stilgestaan bij theorie, assessment, interventies en onderzoek op het gebied van de A&G-psychologie. Het vijfde deel bestaat uit capita selecta waarbij ingegaan wordt op specifieke hedendaagse thema's zoals ziekteverzuim en arbeidsongeschiktheid, burn-out en bevlogenheid, werk-thuis interferentie en wetgeving, alsmede op de problematiek van specifieke groepen zoals ouderen, vrouwen en allochtonen.

The Sage Handbook of Social Psychology bestaat uit 23 hoofdstukken, verdeeld over vijf delen, en leidt de lezer door verschillende thema's in de sociale psychologie, zoals geschiedenis van de sociale psychologie, individuele processen, interpersoonlijke processen, processen binnen groepen en intergroepsprocessen. In de hoofdstukken wordt zowel theoretisch als toegepast onderzoek beschreven, en ieder hoofdstuk bevat een analytisch overzicht van discussies die momenteel heersen in de sociale psychologie. Daarnaast wordt ook ingegaan op toekomstige trends. De traditionele onderwerpen, zoals individuele en interpersoonlijke processen, worden aangevuld met onderwerpen over processen binnen groepen en intergroepsrelaties.

Het handboek Methoden en technieken van onderzoek in de psychologie handelt over verschillende methoden en technieken van empirisch onderzoek in de psychologie. Meer concreet gaat het om dataverzamelingsmethoden, het meten van psychologische variabelen, betrouwbaarheids- en validiteitsanalyse, variantie- en covariantieanalyse, regressieanalyse en factoranalyse. De auteur legt tevens uit hoe een aantal SPSS-procedures hierbij aangestuurd moeten worden. De theorie wordt ondersteund door meer dan 200 opgaven, waaronder 10 computeropgaven met bijgeleverde datasets.