Coding interactions in Motivational Interviewing with computer-software: What are the advantages for process researchers?

a b s t r a c t Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based behavior change intervention. The interactional change processes that make MI effective have been increasingly studied using observational coding schemes. We introduce an implementation of a software-supported MI coding scheme-the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity code (MITI)-and discuss advantages for process researchers. Furthermore, we compared reliability of the software version with prior results of the paper version. A sample of 14 double-coded dyadic interactions showed good to excellent interrater reliabilities. We selected a second sample of 22 sessions to obtain convergent validity results of the software version: substantial correlations were obtained between the software instrument and the Rating Scales for the Assessment of Empathic Communication. Finally, we demonstrate how the software version can be used to test whether single code frequencies obtained by using intervals shorter than 20 min (i.e., 5 or 10 min) are accurate estimates of the respective code frequencies for the entire session (i.e., behavior slicing). Our results revealed that coding only a 10-min interval provides accurate estimates of the entire session. Our study demonstrates that the software implementation of the MITI is a reliable and valid instrument. We discuss advantages of the software version for process research in MI

Career counseling meets motivational interviewing: A sequential analysis of dynamic counselor-client interactions

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a client-centered communication style with the aim to resolve client ambivalence within a change-related counseling. Its potential benefit for career counseling has been discussed by several scholars but no empirical research has investigated MI in this context so far. The current study used process measures from MI to investigate dynamic interactions within a career counseling intervention. Overall, we analyzed two videotaped sessions of 14 unique counselor-client dyads. Verbal behavior of counselors and clients were coded with two observational coding schemes from MI (one for counselors and one for clients, respectively). Behavior profiles of counselors were compared with benchmarks of good MI. Furthermore, client verbal ambivalence was compared between sessions. Finally, we conducted lag sequential analyses to analyze temporal dynamics between counselor behavior and immediate client verbal responses across N = 6883 behavioral events. Our results showed, first, behavior profiles of career counselors did significantly differ from recommended counseling benchmarks of good MI practice. Second, as assumed on the basis of past studies, client ambivalence decreased across sessions. Third, MI consistent counselor behaviors showed a positive sequential association with client positive career talk, whereas MI inconsistent counselor behaviors showed the reverse pattern. Our results suggest that counseling behaviors recommended from MI are facilitating career interventions. We discuss how trainings in MI could amend career counseling interventions and provide ethical implications when integrating MI into career counseling programs

Follower behavior renders leader behavior endogenous: The simultaneity problem, estimation challenges, and solutions

Traditionally, leadership research has focused on unidirectional questions in which leader attributes are considered to determine follower outcomes. However, many phenomena between leaders (x) and followers (y) involve a simultaneous influence process in which x affects y, and y also affects x (i.e., simultaneity). Unfortunately, this simultaneity bias creates endogeneity and is often not properly addressed in the extant leadership literature. In three studies, we demonstrate the challenges of simultaneity bias and present two methodological solutions that can help to correct problems of simultaneity bias. We focus on simultaneity that occurs between follower resistance and leader control. We mathematically demonstrate the simultaneity bias using a simulated dataset and show how this bias can be statistically solved using an instrumental variable estimation approach. Furthermore, we present how the simultaneity bias can be resolved using an experimental design. We discuss how our approach advances theory and methods for leadership research

The Power of Followers That do not Follow: Investigating the Effects of Follower Resistance, Leader Implicit Followership Theories and Leader Negative Affect on the Emergence of Destructive Leader Behavior

This study focuses on follower resistance as a potential antecedent of destructive leader behavior and examines leader-related moderators and mediators to help explain the relationship between follower resistance and destructive leader behavior. Drawing from implicit followership theories, we propose that the relationship between follower resistance and destructive leader behavior is moderated by leaders’ Theory X schema. Furthermore, we build on affective events theory to hypothesize that follower resistance increases destructive leader behavior via leaders’ negative affect. We tested our hypotheses in a within-subjects online field experiment. Our study findings demonstrate that follower resistance increases destructive leader behavior and that this relationship is mediated through leaders’ negative affect and moderated by leaders’ Theory X schema. We discuss theoretical implications regarding the impact of (resistant) follower behavior on destructive leadership and offer methodological advances in terms of research design and analytical approaches to deal with endogeneity issues and derive causal inferences. Lastly, we derive practical implications for utilizing follower resistance

The dynamics of resistance to change: A sequential analysis of change agents in action

Despite consensus that successful change management depends on how change is are communicated to the employees, the dynamic communication process between change agents and recipients remains largely unexplored. We discuss how change language can capture recipients' resistance to and readiness for change, in terms of change versus sustain talk, and adopt a coding instrument from clinical psychology (Motivational Interviewing Skill Code, MISC). We explored whether autonomy-restrictive change agent behaviors may contribute to resistance to change. In a preliminary study, we demonstrate the applicability of the MISC for studying ambivalence in change-related interactions. Next, in a quantitative study of 28 dyadic interactions from a student sample, we examine how change agent behaviors elicit recipients' resistance during the interaction flow, using lag sequential analysis. Our findings show that autonomy-restrictive agent behaviors evoke sustain talk. Recipients' sustain talk in turn evokes autonomy-restrictive agent behavior. We discuss implications for conceptualizing resistance to change as a dynamically emerging conversational construct and point out practical implications for change agents

Interactive Effects of Team Virtuality and Work Design on Team Functioning

© The Author(s) 2019. This review study aimed to investigate how team work design shapes the impact of team virtuality on team functioning. Based on 48 studies, we identified key work design variables that influence both team functioning, that is, team performance and intermediary outcomes (i.e., team processes and emergent states), under conditions of high virtuality (or in interaction with virtuality). First, while outcome interdependence showed positive effects on the functioning of virtual teams, particularly via motivational increases, task interdependence showed mixed results. Second, high levels of knowledge characteristics (e.g., task complexity) appear to worsen team functioning within virtual contexts, likely because these characteristics add to the demands of an already demanding context. Third, job resources (e.g., feedback) showed positive associations with team functioning, suggesting these variables might buffer the high demands of virtual work. Given these results, more investigations that explicitly examine the interaction between work design and team virtuality are needed

A psychology perspective of energy consumption in organisations: The value of participatory interventions

This paper provides a psychology perspective on the human factors that should be taken into consideration when designing behaviour-based energy-saving interventions for non-residential buildings. We review psychological theories used to explain energy-related behaviours and discuss their limitations as well as additional hindrances that interfere with employees' energy conservation. Furthermore, we highlight the features that distinguish residential from non-residential buildings and discuss how these factors may affect peoples' efforts to save energy. In conclusion, we argue that it is ineffective to promote energy-saving behaviours through top-down communication (e.g. information campaigns) but that decision-makers should rather rely on participatory designs, since these facilitate consumers' involvement, increase intrinsic motivation to save energy, take consumers' social environment into account, establish new energy-consumption norms, and encourage overt commitment of individuals to energy savings. Furthermore, we outline how participatory interventions could be strengthened by using motivational interviewing (MI) techniques, a conversation style that could be utilised to evoke users' motivation to engage in energy-conversation behaviours in non-residential buildings. Since basic MI skills can be learned within few days, we recommend that energy managers receive such a training in order to conduct in-house participatory MI-based interventions