Motivation, cognitions and traits: predicting occupational health, well-being and performance

Past research on vulnerability/resistance to occupational stress and strain has focused predominantly on personality defined at the trait or dispositional level (e.g. Type A Behaviour Pattern, Locus of Control, Dispositional Optimism and Negative Affectivity). This is problematic for two reasons. First, within the current, prevailing integrative view of personality there are three main elements: motivation, cognitions, and traits (Winter, 1996; McAdams, 2000). The second problem is that there are two branches that together define personality psychology as a discipline: (a) the nomothetic or 'individual difference' approach; and (b) the 'ideographic' approach, that is the structure and organization of personality at the individual level (Epstein, 1994), yet trait theory-and especially the 'Big Five' model-have paid little attention to the latter, a trend that is also evident in the occupational stress literature. The central thesis of the current paper is that motivation, cognitions and traits should contribute more variance to the stress-strain relationship than trait personality alone. A preliminary model is presented and recommendations for future research provided

Occupational stress, well being, coping, and organisational change: motives and traits: predicting occupational health and well being in a managerial sample

Abstract not available

Motives and traits: predicting occupational health and well being in a managerial sample

Past research on the role of personality in the occupational stressor-strain relationship has focused almost exclusively on 'sub-traits' such as Type A Behaviour Pattern, Locus of Control, Negative Affectivity, and Dispositional Optimism. This is problematic for several reasons. First, there are at least three theoretical levels of personality: motives, cognitions, and traits. Second, there are two domains that together define personality psychology, namely nomothetic and idiographic approaches. Third, the role of trait personality, defined according to the 'Big Five', in predicting occupational stress and strain is not well understood. The current paper argues that the role of different levels and domains of personality in the occupational stressor-strain must be considered in future research. Data examining the combined/interactive role of Big Five traits (idiographic approach) in predicting occupational stress, coping strategies, and strain among 217 male and female managerial personnel is presented. Supporting an idiographic approach, the combination of low neuroticism with high extraversion and/or high conscientiousness predicted lower stressor exposure and physical ill health and higher subjective well being and job satisfaction, while the combination of high neuroticism with low conscientiousness predicted maladaptive coping. Further, high neuroticism and low agreeableness interacted to predict higher physical ill health and lower subjective well-being and job satisfaction

The abstracts of the 5th Australian Industrial and Organisational Psychology Conference, Melbourne, 26–29 July, 2003

These abstracts form the collection of papers which were presented in full at the 5th Australian Industrial/Organisational Psychology conference held in Melbourne, 26–29 July, 2003. Papers were accepted for either paper presentation or poster presentation following a peer-review process (2 reviewers per paper). The collection covers the full range of I/O topics. The 580 delegates who attended came from 18 different countries around the world, with the keynote speakers speaking on ‘hot-topics’ of interest to both academics and practitioners alike

Team composition : personality and ability as predictors of team performance

Abstract not available

Team organisational mental models : an integrative framework for research

In recent years, researchers from a broad and disparate range of disciplines, have explored the utility of the 'mental model' (Rogers, 1993), 'collective mind' (Weick and Roberts, 1993), 'cognitive maps' (Langfield-Smith, 1992), and 'team mental model' (Cannon-Bowers, Salas, & Converse, 1993). In general, these diverse literatures present a confusing array of concepts and meanings with little coherence or systematic research. Further, much of the research stems from aviation psychology, where samples are homogenous, and topics uniquely applicable to defence scenarios (eg cockpit behaviour) are favoured. The present research integrates cognitive, social and aviation psychology, by presenting a framework for analysing 'team organisational mental models'. This unifying model should be useful for the ergonomist and psychologist investigating shared cognition, group dynamics, and teamwork in organisations

Applications of Pathfinder in mental models research : a new approach

Abstract not available

Team mental models: techniques, methods, and analytic approaches

Effective team functioning requires the existence of a shared or team mental model among members of a team. However, the best method for measuring team mental models is unclear. Methods reported vary in terms of how mental model content is elicited and analyzed or represented. We review the strengths and weaknesses of various methods that have been used to elicit, represent, and analyze individual and team mental models and provide recommendations for method selection and development. We describe the nature of mental models and review techniques that have been used to elicit and represent them. We focus on a case study on selecting a method to examine team mental models in industry. The processes involved in the selection and development of an appropriate method for eliciting, representing, and analyzing team mental models are described. The criteria for method selection were (a) applicability to the problem under investigation; (b) practical considerations---suitability for collecting data from the targeted research sample; and (c) theoretical rationale---the assumption that associative networks in memory are a basis for the development of mental models. We provide an evaluation of the method matched to the research problem and make recommendations for future research. The practical applications of this research include the provision of a technique for analyzing team mental models in organizations, the development of methods and processes for eliciting a mental model from research participants in their normal work environment, and a survey of available methodologies for mental model research

Supporting employee participation: attitudes and perceptions in trainees, employees and teams

Research in employee participation has tended to focus on participation outcomes rather than the process of successful implementation, and to evaluate program success in terms of (a) employee attitudes (e.g. satisfaction) post-participation and (b) productivity or effectiveness. We argue that such approaches ignore the process component of successful implementation such as the long-term maintenance of interest in and support for participation among employees. A second problem is that although some research confronts this issue, the factors that moderate attitudes and perceptions of participation have not been examined in detail, nor acknowledged in current models of participation. Two projects are reported. The first examined the effect of seniority and training experience on personal support for participation, perceptions of program reputation and outcomes, and perceived organizational support for participation. Shop floor workers reported less personal support for employee participation and perceived less organizational support for participation than did special function workers and managers. Trainees held more positive perceptions of program outcomes, and they also reported more personal support for employee participation than did trained or untrained employees (regardless of seniority), although they perceived less organizational support for participation. The second study explored goal commitment in employee participation teams on the shop floor. Both prior team experience and task type predicted (perceived) status and influence within the team, which in turn predicted goal commitment. Teamwork training predicted perceived value of external relations, which in turn predicted goal commitment. Results are discussed in terms of implications for successful program implementation

The teamwork behaviour scale : development and application in a service organisation

This paper describes the development and application of a new teamwork measure, the Teamwork Behaviour Scale (TBS). The TBS was developed in collaboration with actual teams in a service organisation, giving it strong ecological validity. The data set included responses to the TBS from two sets of respondents within the same organisation. Both samples involved teamwork issues, albeit in different contexts---Industrial Participation training groups (103 respondents) and work groups (68 respondents). Work group respondents completed a range of task characteristics and group process measures. Significant differences were found on the total TBS score as a function of planning, frequency of interaction with manager, and previous work group experiences. The TBS demonstrates good reliability (.89), and correlates significantly with other team related-constructs such as communication openness (r = .67) indicating reasonable convergent validity. An exploratory principal components analysis suggests that the TBS measures four factors of teamwork: performance, cohesion, communication, and agreement and involvement. Further validatory work needs be conducted in organisations where teams are involved with the new scale