Subconscious performance goals: investigating the moderating effect of negative goal-discrepancy feedback

Building on theories of conscious goals and feedback, we investigated the moderating effect of negative feedback on the relation between subconscious goals and performance. In two lab experiments, we manipulated subconscious performance goals and negative feedback about personal performance as well as social comparison information. In Study 1 (n = 80), subconscious goals positively influenced performance in an attention and concentration task when participants had received no feedback and negatively when participants had been confronted with negative performance feedback. In Study 2 (n = 90), additional comparison feedback indicating a higher performance of others led to higher performance of participants with versus without subconscious performance goals. The moderating effect of feedback was visible in self-efficacy, and we found partial support for its mediating role

Pair programming in software development teams : an empirical study of its benefits

We present the results of an extensive and substantial case study on pair programming, which was carried out in courses for software development at the University of Dortmund, Germany. Thirteen software development teams with about 100 students took part in the experiments. The groups were divided into two sets with different working conditions. In one set, the group members worked on their projects in pairs. Even though the paired teams could only use half of the workstations the teams of individual workers could use, the paired teams produced nearly as much code as the teams of individual workers at the same time. In addition, the code produced by the paired teams was easier to read and to understand. This facilitates finding errors and maintenance

Core self-evaluations as a personal resource at work for motivation and health

\u3cp\u3eWe investigated the role of core self-evaluations (CSE) as a positive, personal resource in the motivational and health impairment processes outlined in the Job-Demands-Resources (JDR) model. In two samples of German and Dutch employees we investigated how this higher-order personality construct integrating self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability, contributes to the prediction of two outcomes pertaining to strain and well-being. In Study 1 (N = 135) we found CSE to be positively related to work engagement, directly, and indirectly via job crafting behavior aiming to enhance structural resources at work. In Study 2 (N = 330), we found a negative relationship of CSE with burnout, directly, and an indirect relationship via psychological detachment with regard to exhaustion. Against our expectations, we did not find support for a moderating effect of CSE in either study, neither on the relationship of job crafting behavior and work engagement, nor on the relationship of psychological detachment with exhaustion and disengagement. Nonetheless, our results support the role of CSE as a positive individual resource, sustaining the building of psychological and job resources. Therefore, our findings bear important practical implications for enhancing motivation and health of employees in today's organizations.\u3c/p\u3

Aberrant personality tendencies and academic success throughout engineering education

Objective: In a longitudinal field study, we investigated the predictive associations between six aberrant personality tendencies (schizotypal, avoidant, borderline, antisocial, narcissistic, obsessive‐compulsive) and academic success of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics students.\u3cbr/\u3eMethod: Bachelor students of Industrial Engineering at a Dutch technical university (N = 432, Mage = 18.45; 87.3% male) filled out the NEO‐PI‐R and aberrant tendencies were operationalized by the five‐factor model (FFM) compound technique. Indicators of academic achievement (grades) and persistence (credit points earned per year, re‐enrollment, study duration) were made available by the academic office.\u3cbr/\u3eResults: Validities across the 3 years of the study program consistently support the role of two aberrant tendencies: Individuals with high antisocial tendency reached lower academic achievement, took longer to finish their study, and had a higher risk of dropout. The obsessive‐compulsive tendency was associated with higher grade‐point average, faster study progress, and higher retention rates and effects were still visible while controlling for known predictors (high school grades, Conscientiousness). Contrary to our expectations, we found no evidence for inverted U‐shaped relationships.\u3cbr/\u3eConclusions: We used the compound technique for aberrant tendencies based on the FFM in the academic context and our findings support the importance of personality‐based psychopathological tendencies for academic success

Approach and avoidance temperament: an examination of its construct and predictive validity at work

Abstract. In four studies, we investigated the factorial structure and the construct and predictive validity of the approach-avoidance temperament questionnaire (ATQ; Elliot & Thrash, 2010) for attitudes and behavior at work. In Study 1 (N = 395 university students), we showed that a Dutch translation of the ATQ can be best described by a two-factorial structure. In Study 2 (N = 295 senior-year students), we documented approach and avoidance temperament as predictor of students’ career adaptability and engagement. In Study 3 (N = 103 employees), we demonstrated that approach and avoidance temperament have incremental predictive validity for work engagement beyond goal orientation (three-dimensional model). In Study 4 (N = 93 employees), approach temperament was positively related to peer ratings of job performance, independent of achievement goals (four-dimensional model). Overall, we showed that individual differences in terms of a predisposition for the orientation and reaction to positive/negative stimuli across situations can be used to increase our understanding of behavior at work. Our results support the practical utility of approach and avoidance temperament for work settings

The effect of subconscious performance goals on academic performance

We investigated the impact of subconscious goals on academic performance in two field experiments. We show that unobtrusive priming of goals with regard to achievement motivation by means of a photograph improves performance in different educational contexts. High-school students who were exposed to an achievement-related photograph achieved higher grades than students in two control conditions. This effect was not affected by students’ prior performance. University students exposed to a photograph representing a specific, difficult goal reached even higher performance than students taking the exam with a general achievement photograph. For practice, subconscious goals may form a powerful, cost-effective tool to enhance academic performance. However, varying results across the experiments also prompt the need for further investigations of such effect

The effect of self-set grade goals and core self-evaluations on academic performance:a diary study

The aim of this diary study was to examine the effect of self-set grade goals and core self-evaluations on academic performance. Data were collected among 59 university students (M age = 18.4 yr., SD = 0.8) in a 2-wk. exam period on up to five exam days. Multilevel analyses revealed that the individual grade goals students set for their exams were positively related to the grades they obtained for these exams. However, the goal–performance relationship only applied to students scoring high on core self-evaluations. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of the effect of self-set grade goals and core self-evaluations on academic performance and imply important practical applications to enhance academic performance.\u3cbr/\u3e\u3cbr/\u3e\u3cbr/\u3

Individual job redesign:job crafting interventions in healthcare

\u3cp\u3eIn two quasi-experimental studies – Study 1 among medical specialists (N = 119) and Study 2 among nurses (N = 58) – we tested the impact of a general and a specific job crafting intervention on health care professionals’ well-being and (objective and subjective) job performance. Both groups of participants received training and then set personal job crafting goals for a period of three weeks. The results of a series of repeated measures analyses showed that both interventions were successful. Participation in the job crafting intervention groups were associated with increases in job crafting behaviors, well-being (i.e., work engagement, health, and reduced exhaustion), and job performance (i.e., adaptive, task, and contextual performance) for the medical specialists and nurses relative to the control groups. Though we did not find a significant intervention effect for objective performance, we conclude that job crafting is a promising job redesign intervention strategy that individual employees can use to improve their well-being and job performance.\u3c/p\u3

Individual job redesign : job crafting interventions in healthcare

In two quasi-experimental studies – Study 1 among medical specialists (N = 119) and Study 2 among nurses (N = 58) – we tested the impact of a general and a specific job crafting intervention on health care professionals’ well-being and (objective and subjective) job performance. Both groups of participants received training and then set personal job crafting goals for a period of three weeks. The results of a series of repeated measures analyses showed that both interventions were successful. Participation in the job crafting intervention groups were associated with increases in job crafting behaviors, well-being (i.e., work engagement, health, and reduced exhaustion), and job performance (i.e., adaptive, task, and contextual performance) for the medical specialists and nurses relative to the control groups. Though we did not find a significant intervention effect for objective performance, we conclude that job crafting is a promising job redesign intervention strategy that individual employees can use to improve their well-being and job performance