The relationship between Revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST), handedness and indecision

Indecisiveness is an inability to make a decision, manifest across a number of behaviours. We explore the influence that both direction and strength of hand preference may have on this construct, examining it in relation to the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST). Frost and Shows’ (1993) Indecisiveness Scale was administered to 328 undergraduates (221 females), alongside the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (Oldfield, 1971) and Carver and White’s (1994) BIS/BAS scales. Simple correlations showed left-handers had a positive relationship between strength of handedness and BIS. In right-handers, strength and aversive indecision were positively correlated. Regression analysis demonstrated no significant relationship between hand strength and indecision, but that indecision was related to all three measures of rRST. Consistent with previous work, BIS was positively related to all indecision but particularly aversive, while BAS was negatively related to indecision but most strongly the avoidant category. We found that FFFS is more closely related to aversive than avoidant indecision. The relationship between rRST and indecision may be influenced by handedness; for right-handers the same pattern was found, but in left-handers BAS was not a significant predictor of indecision, BIS only predicted aversive indecision and FFFS predicted all three categories

Are left-handers really more anxious?

Research examining anxiety and handedness is inconclusive. Davidson and Schaffer (1983) found left-handers had higher trait anxiety, while Beaton and Moseley (1991) found no state or trait differences. Such studies potentially have methodological issues, and we have argued that handedness related reactivity differences (Wright & Hardie, 2011) suggest that state anxiety needs to be measured within a context. Thus the current study investigated state and trait anxiety levels in an experimental situation. We found left-handers had significantly higher state scores, supporting the right hemisphere's role in negative affect and inhibition. It also fits with predictions based on the behavioural inhibition system's role in the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (rRST). No trait differences were found, but there was a significant relationship between trait and state anxiety. Using ANCOVA to control for the influence of trait anxiety on state anxiety, we still found a handedness effect. When participant's trait anxiety levels were similar, left-handers showed a relatively larger state response. We conclude that in the context of an experiment, state anxiety was directly correlated with trait anxiety but that the relatively higher reactivity of left-handers may be a major influence on how they respond in a new situation

Differences between left- and right-handers in approach/avoidance motivation: influence of consistency of handedness measures

Hand preference is often viewed as a troublesome variable in psychological research, with left-handers routinely excluded from studies. Contrary to this, a body of evidence has shown hand preference to be a useful variable when examining human behavior. A recent review argues that the most effective way of using handedness as a variable, is a comparison between individuals who use their dominant hand for virtually all manual activities (consistent handers) versus those who use their other hand for at least one activity (inconsistent handers). The authors contend that researchers should only focus on degree of handedness rather than direction of preference (left versus right). However, we argue that the field suffers from a number of methodological and empirical issues. These include a lack of consensus in choice of cut-off point to divide consistent and inconsistent categories and importantly a paucity of data from left-handers. Consequentially, researchers predominantly compare inconsistent versus consistent right-handers, largely linked to memory, cognition and language. Other research on response style and personality measures shows robust direction of handedness effects. The present study examines both strength and direction of handedness on self-reported behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) scores, using evidence from a large (N = 689) dataset including more than 200 left-handers. There were degree of handedness effects on BIS and BAS-Fun Seeking, but effects are largely driven by differences between consistent left-handers and other groups. Choice of cut-off point substantively influenced results, and suggests that unless a suitable sample of left-handers is included, researchers clarify that their degree of handedness effects are applicable only to right-handers. We concur that strength of hand preference is an important variable but caution that differences related to consistency may not be identical in right and left-handers

SOTA 2004 Managing for Value(s) in a Commoditized World

Since its inception in 1995, Human Resource Planning Society’s State of the Art/Practice study has become an important way that the Society seeks to generate and disseminate information critical to effective HR strategy decision making. The study began as an effort to identify the major issues driving organizations and causing transformations in HR (Caimano, Canavan, & Hill, 1998; Ulrich & Eichinger, 1995; 1996; Wright, Dyer, & Takla, 1998). More recently, the SOTA/P has focused on drilling down more deeply to understand HR’s role in critical strategic issues such as e-business (Wright and Dyer, 1999) and using HR to build a customer-focused company (Overholt and Grannell, 2002). The 2004 SOTA/P returns to the original roots, and seeks to describe the competitive landscape, and the implications of these trends for HR

Doing Good and Looking Good in Global Humanitarian Reporting: Is Philanthrojournalism good news?

This chapter investigates if and how a private donor’s apparent motivation to ‘look good’ – or to generate symbolic capital – interacts with a news organization’s ability to ‘do good’ by producing public service content. We address this issue by reporting on the findings of a year-long study of the online humanitarian news organisation – IRIN – as it became primarily funded by a new donor. We argue that whilst it is possible that the Foundation’s pursuit of symbolic capital may have had some effect on how IRIN sought to ‘do good’, it did not appear to affect the extent to which IRIN was either willing or able to ‘do good’. Indeed, our analysis makes clear that the influence of the Foundation only had an effect on IRIN when it combined with other factors, especially journalists’ own values and organizational strategies. Ultimately, this case highlights the limits of generalized claims about the likely influence of a donor’s desire to ‘look good’ on a news organization

Partner or Guardian? HR’s Challenge in Balancing Value and Values

[Excerpt] Is HR at a crossroad? A number of signs seem to be pointing that way. Increasingly HR executives are faced with a critical decision: Will they continue on their journey to be business leaders, , with full sway and equal influence in organizational decision making, or will they take the short-cut by sacrificing professional ethics and values for a seat at the table. This challenge is exemplified by the story of Delta Airlines

Toward a Unifying Framework for Exploring Fit and Flexibility in Strategic Human Resource Management

This paper presents a framework for studying the concepts of fit and flexibility in the field of Strategic Human Resource Management (Strategic HRM) focusing on HRM practices, employee skills, and employee behaviors and reviews past conceptual and empirical work within that framework. A model of Strategic HRM is presented and this model is used to explore the concepts of fit and flexibility as they apply to Strategic HRM. The concepts of resource and coordination flexibility are applied to Strategic HRM, and the implications of the framework for both the practice of and research on Strategic HRM are discussed