General mental ability and specific abilities: Their relative importance for extrinsic career success

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Psychological Association via the DOI in this recordRecent research on the role of general mental ability (GMA) and specific abilities in work-related outcomes has shown that the results differ depending on the theoretical and conceptual approach that researchers use. While earlier research has typically assumed that GMA causes the specific abilities and has thus used incremental validity analysis, more recent research has explored the implications of treating GMA and specific abilities as equals (differing only in breadth and not subordination) and has used relative importance analysis. In this paper, we extend this work to the prediction of extrinsic career success operationalized as pay, income, and the attainment of jobs with high prestige. Results, based on a large national sample, revealed that GMA and specific abilities measured in school were good predictors of job prestige measured after 11 years, pay measured after 11 years, and income 51 years later toward the end of the participants’ work lives. With one exception, GMA was a dominant predictor in incremental validity analyses. However, in relative importance analyses, the majority of the explained variance was explained by specific abilities, and GMA was not more important than single specific abilities in relative importance analyses. Visuospatial, verbal, and mathematical abilities all had substantial variance shares and were also more important than GMA in some of the analyses. Implications for the interpretation of cognitive ability data and facilitating people’s success in their careers are discussed

Detecting Consensus Emergence in Organizational Multilevel Data: Power Simulations

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this recordTheories suggest that groups within organizations often develop shared values, beliefs, affect, behaviors or agreed-upon routines; however, researchers rarely study predictors of consensus emergence over time. Recently, a multilevel-methods approach for detecting and studying emergence in organizational field data has been described. This approach—the consensus emergence model—builds on an extended three-level multilevel model. Researchers planning future studies based on the consensus emergence model need to consider (a) sample size characteristics required to detect emergence effects with satisfactory statistical power, and (b) how the distribution of the overall sample size across the levels of the multilevel model influences power. We systematically address both issues by conducting a power simulation for detecting main and moderating effects involving consensus emergence under a variety of typical research scenarios, and provide an R-based tool that readers can use to estimate power. Our discussion focuses on the future use and development of multilevel methods for studying emergence in organizational research

Cognitive control strategies and adaptive performance in a complex work task

This is the author accepted manuscript. the final version is available from the American Psychological Association via the DOI in this recordAdapting to task changes in work settings frequently calls not only for shifting one’s thoughts and behaviors to the new demands, but also for dealing with outdated knowledge and skills. This article focuses on the role of control strategies in task adaptation, and reports two experimental studies using an air traffic control simulation task. In both studies (N = 66 and 105 with k = 1,320 and 1,680 observations, respectively), all participants first learned and performed an initial version of the task, then received instruction about control strategies, performed an altered version of the task with new execution rules, and finally worked on a memory test. Participants were instructed to either deliberately forget the old rules, remember the old rules, or simply learn the new task (Study 2 only). Results from discontinuous growth curve modeling revealed that the directed forgetting in both studies and the control group in Study 2 showed higher performance in the simulation after the change relative to their performance before the change (transition adaptation). There were no relearning differences between the groups suggesting that these differences persisted throughout the task. However, the memory test at the end of the study revealed that the directed forgetting groups and the learning control group remembered less outdated task execution rules in the memory test after the simulation than the remembering group. The findings suggest that different types of cognitive strategies have costs and benefits. Conceptual and practical implications of these findings are discussed

Work event experiences: Implications of an expanded taxonomy for understanding daily well-being.

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Psychological Association via the DOI in this recordThis article builds on earlier research on work events and uses a recently developed taxonomy of situation perceptions—the CAPTION taxonomy—to study daily work events. The authors specifically test the ideas that the specific affective event dimensions A (Adversity) and O (humOr), and cognitive and typicality dimensions—I (Importance), C (Complexity), and T (Typicality)—contribute to explaining daily well-being beyond P (Positive valence) and N (Negative valence). Study 1 included N = 242 employees who filled in a diary over five workdays, and Study 2 included a total of 295 employees in an experience sampling design. Results from multilevel confirmatory factor analyses with events nested in persons and days nested in persons suggested that a 7-dimension model—in line with the CAPTION taxonomy— improved model fit. Multilevel structural equation modeling further revealed that the additional dimensions contributed to explaining well-being after work (Study 1) and well-being at work (Study 2) at both the between- and the within-person level. These effects were in particular driven by the A (Adversity) and O (humOr) dimensions. The authors discuss to what degree a multidimensional perspective on situation perceptions can improve occupational health researchers’ understanding of work events as drivers of well-being at work

Connect vs. conquer? CEO gender and implicit motives

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Emerald via the DOI in this recordPurpose – This study examined gender differences in CEOs’ expression of implicit achievement, power, and affiliation motivation. Building on the role congruity account of sex differences and similarities in motivation and existing literature on implicit motives, the study tested whether female CEOs would express higher affiliation motivation than male CEOs and similar levels of achievement motivation. In addition, gender differences in power motivation were explored. Design/methodology/approach – The study used propensity score matching to generate a comparable sample of male and female CEOs from publicly-traded companies. Subsequently, the authors content-coded CEO letters from annual reports using Winter’s (1994) manual for scoring motive imagery in running text. Findings – Overall, CEOs expressed more achievement and power motivation than affiliation motivation. Comparisons between male and female CEOs showed that female CEOs expressed lower power and higher affiliation motivation than male CEOs. Research limitations/implications – By integrating implicit motive theory with social role theory and the role congruity account of motivation, this study provides a theoretical framework and novel demonstration that understanding social roles and gender roles can lend insights into motive expression by CEOs. Originality/value – The study uses established theory and a validated scoring method in a novel way by analyzing implicit motives from CEO letters, a critical communication channel in the CEO-shareholder relationship. In doing so, this study adopts a socio-cultural perspective. Informed by the role congruity account of motivation, the study demonstrates the importance of social roles and gender roles for motivational displays

What are agile, flexible, or adaptable employees and students? A typology of dynamic individual differences in applied settings

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this recordThe applied psychology literature has discussed and used a variety of different definitions of dynamic individual differences. Descriptions like dynamic, agile, adaptive, or flexible can refer to a variety of different types of constructs. The present article contributes to the literature by presenting an organizing typology of dynamic constructs. We also conducted a literature review of four major applied journals over the last 15 years to validate the taxonomy and to use it to map what type of dynamic individual differences constructs are typically studied in the applied psychology literature. The typology includes six basic conceptualizations of dynamic individual differences: Variability constructs (inconsistency across situations), skill acquisition constructs (learning new skills), transition constructs (avoiding “loss” in performance after unforeseen change), reacquisition constructs (relearning after change), acceleration/deceleration constructs (losing or gaining energy by displaying the behavior), and integration/dissolution constructs (behavior becomes more or less uniform). We provide both verbal and statistical definitions for each of these constructs, and demonstrate how these conceptualizations can be operationalized in assessment and criterion measurement using R code and simulated data. We also show how researchers can test different dynamic explanations using likelihood-based R² statistics

Stop thinking: an experience sampling study on suppressing distractive thoughts at work

This is the final version. Available on open access from Frontiers Media via the DOI in this record. In modern work environments, it can be difficult for workers to avoid becoming distracted from their current task. This study investigates person–situation interactions to predict thought control activities (kind of self-control), which aim to stop distracting thoughts that enter the mind. Specifically, it was examined (1) how challenging work demands (time pressure, task complexity) activate workers’ thought control to stop distractive thoughts (nlevel2 = 143) and relate to the effort to do so (nlevel2 = 91) in daily working life and (2) how these relationships differ according workers’ general cognitive ability to suppress unwanted thoughts. To understand these person–situation interactions, an experience sampling study was combined with a laboratory task assessing the ability to suppress unwanted thoughts (think/no-think task). Multilevel modeling revealed that workers’ engage more often and more intensively in thought control activities at a moderate level of time pressure but only when they had a higher general ability to suppress unwanted thoughts. For workers with a lower ability to suppress unwanted thoughts, increasing time pressure was negatively related to thought control activities, even at very low levels of time pressure. Thus, whether time pressure activates or hinders thought control depends on individuals’ ability to suppress distractive thoughts.German Research Council (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG

Best research practices for using the Implicit Association Test

This is the final version. Available from Springer via the DOI in this record. Interest in unintended discrimination that can result from implicit attitudes and stereotypes (implicit biases) has stimulated many research investigations. Much of this research has used the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to measure association strengths that are presumed to underlie implicit biases. It had been more than a decade since the last published treatment of recommended best practices for research using IAT measures. After an initial draft by the first author, and continuing through three subsequent drafts, the 22 authors and 14 commenters contributed extensively to refining the selection and description of recommendation-worthy research practices. Individual judgments of agreement or disagreement were provided by 29 of the 36 authors and commenters. Of the 21 recommended practices for conducting research with IAT measures presented in this article, all but two were endorsed by 90% or more of those who felt knowledgeable enough to express agreement or disagreement; only 4% of the totality of judgments expressed disagreement. For two practices that were retained despite more than two judgments of disagreement (four for one, five for the other), the bases for those disagreements are described in presenting the recommendations. The article additionally provides recommendations for how to report procedures of IAT measures in empirical articles.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC