The Effect of Dysfunctional Thought Processes on Subjective Well-Being and Job Satisfaction

While the dispositional approach to job satisfaction has received a good deal of recent attention, a fundamental deficiency in past dispositional research is a failure to use existing theories to explain why individuals are unhappy and dissatisfied with their jobs. Locke (1976), Judge (in press), and Judge and Hulin (in press) suggested that thinking processes should be studied in relation to job satisfaction. This study tested the thesis that the cognitive theory of depression, which focuses on irrational thought processes, will help in understanding both subjective well-being and job satisfaction. A causal model involving subjective well-being, job satisfaction, dysfunctional thought processes, and other relevant influences was hypothesized and tested using a stratified random sample of university employees. Ratings were obtained from two sources in order to reduce single-source bias. The results indicated strong support for the overall model and for the efficacy of dysfunctional thought processes

Gathering a crowd for a first service launch

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1546/thumbnail.jp

Some observations on the puzzling world of self-regulation and depletion

AbstractThis paper identifies problems with ego depletion theory including failures to replicate, non-support for glucose as a mediator, the stress on single replication studies rather than replication with variation, the failure to document generalizability, the stress on physical as opposed to psychological moderators and mediators, and the overemphasis on deduction as the core scientific method

Entrepreneurial Motivation

Recent research on entrepreneurship has focused largely on macro-level environmental forces. Although researchers adopting this focus have rightly criticized much of the existing empirical research on the role of human motivation in entrepreneurship, we believe that the development of entrepreneurship theory requires consideration of the motivations of people making entrepreneurial decisions. To provide a road map for researchers interested in this area, we discuss the major motivations that prior researchers have suggested should influence the entrepreneurial process, as well as suggest some motivations that are less commonly studied in this area. In addition to outlining the major reasons for exploring these motivations, we identify the major weaknesses that have limited the predictive power of previous research on this topic. We offer explicit solutions for future research to adopt to overcome these problems

The Relationship of Achievement Motivation to Entrepreneurial Behavior: A Meta-Analysis

Entrepreneurship is a major factor in the national economy; thus, it is important to understand the motivational characteristics spurring people to become entrepreneurs and why some are more successful than others. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis of the relationship between achievement motivation and variables associated with entrepreneurial behavior. We found that achievement motivation was significantly correlated with both choice of an entrepreneurial career and entrepreneurial performance. Further, we found that both projective and self-report measures of achievement motivation were valid. Finally, known group studies yielded a higher validity coefficient than did individual difference studies

Writing about personal goals and plans regardless of goal type boosts academic performance

Academic underachievement is a problem for both our education system and general society. Setting personal goals has the potential to impact academic performance, as many students realize through reflection that studying is a path towards realizing important life goals. Consequently, the potential impact of a brief (4–6 h), written, and staged personal goal-setting intervention on undergraduate academic performance (earned European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System credits) was investigated. Using a time-lagged quasi-experimental design, our model was tested with two first-year university goal-setting cohorts and two control cohorts (total n = 2928). The goal-setting cohorts (n = 698 and 711) showed a 22% increase in academic performance versus the control cohorts (n = 810 and 707). This increase depended on (1) the extent of participation in the 3-stage goal-setting intervention, (2) number of words written in the exercise, and (3) the specificity of students’ goal-achievement plans (GAP). Contrary to goal-setting theory, which necessitates goal-task specificity, the results revealed that it did not matter whether the students wrote about academic or non-academic goals, or a combination of both. Rather, it appeared to be the overall process of writing about their personal goals, the specificity of their strategies for goal attainment, and the extent of their participation in the intervention that led to an increase in their academic performance. This study suggests an important modification to goal-setting theory, namely a potential contagion effect of setting life goals, an academic goal primed in the subconscious, and subsequent academic performance