R-3 Repository :: Browsing by Author "Beier, Margaret E"

Browsing by Author "Beier, Margaret E"

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A Lifespan Perspective on Proactive Socioemotional Behaviors and Work Attitudes and Performance
(2020-02-20) Torres, Wendy; Beier, Margaret E
Lifespan development perspectives propose that people’s social interactions change with increasing age, such that there is a shift from knowledge-related social goals (social behaviors primarily for instrumental gain, such as networking for promotions, or eliciting supervisor feedback about job performance) to emotion-related social goals (social behaviors primarily for affective gain, such as developing close friendships). The current research examined the extent to which workers used proactive socioemotional behaviors (PSBs) to experience emotionally rewarding social interactions, and whether these behaviors particularly benefited the work attitudes and performance of older workers, as predicted by lifespan development perspectives. Workers provided examples of their social proactivity, which were used to develop a PSB scale (Study 1; N = 143). In a separate sample of workers, the scale was assessed for reliability and validity (Study 2; N = 216). The relationships between age, PSBs, and work attitudes and performance were examined in a separate sample of workers (Study 3; N = 250); colleague ratings of workers’ work attitudes and performance were used to validate responses. Factor analysis of the PSB scale revealed three facets: emotional intentions (behaviors that concern experiencing emotional satisfaction through social interactions with colleagues), social intentions (behaviors that concern creating opportunities for socializing with colleagues), and generativity intentions (behaviors that concern teaching, training, or providing job feedback to colleagues or improving the work environment for colleagues). PSBs accounted for variance in work attitudes and performance, beyond other proactivity measures. The expected age differences in PSBs were not found. Rather, the findings suggest that use of emotional intentions and generativity intentions are similar between younger and older workers, but that younger workers use higher levels of social intentions than older workers. The current research furthers knowledge about the proactive role of workers in their job satisfaction, engagement, and performance through emotion-related social interactions. Organizations may be interested in the results, particularly for a future of work that may limit opportunities for workers to proactively experience or bring about preferred social interactions.
Age and Training: A Meta-analysis Examining Training Features
(2017-04-14) Young, Carmen K; Beier, Margaret E
In light of an aging workforce and constant advances in technology, organizations are faced with questions about best practices for training and retraining their workers. Rapid technological developments create a need for organizations to train their employees on new technologies in order to stay competitive within their industries. However, the baby boomers that comprise a large portion of the workforce are aging, making older workers the prime targets for training. Age functions as a proxy for developmental changes in psychological capabilities that can affect learning. As such, organizations need to consider how their current organizational training practices align with the needs of older workers, and how to adjust their training programs such that they are comparably effective for younger and older workers alike. A meta-analytic study was conducted using lifespan motivation and cognitive resources theories to examine the relationship between age and training outcomes; namely trainee reactions, performance, and training times. Results demonstrate that the relationship between age and training outcomes changes with how those outcomes are operationalized. Furthermore, factors such as task content, task complexity, along with the structure and pacing of training programs, differentially impact training outcomes in ways that can help diminish age differences. These findings can be used by researchers and practitioners to work toward creating job-related, fixed-pace training that supports older workers by improving their training times and performance.
Course Participation, Performance, and Completion by Adult Learners in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC): Trait Complexes, Interest, and Non-Ability Determinants
(2016-12-01) Torres, Jackie; Beier, Margaret E
The current study examines determinants of course engagement for adult learners registered in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). It is framed under investment theories of adult intellectual development, which posit that effort and attention toward knowledge acquisition and maintenance is directed by both ability (e.g., reasoning ability) and non-ability determinants (e.g., personality; Ackerman, 1996). Although instructors of MOOCs may provide course learning objectives and a learning schedule, learners have choice and control over their learning experience. Learners can choose the topics in which they engage, the course materials to focus on, and whether or not they complete the course. To examine course engagement as it occurs in a five-week long MOOC, learners’ survey responses were linked to objective course data. Outcomes examined were course activity participation, course performance, and course completion. A model is proposed and tested in which these outcomes are predicted by individual differences in trait complexes (i.e., constellation of personality and achievement goal orientations) and more proximally by interest, prior experiences, prior knowledge related to course content, and course affective engagement. We found that an intellectual/mastery trait complex was predictive of course affective engagement, which in turn was predictive of course outcomes. However, we found no such relationships for a traditional/avoidant trait complex.
Do older adults benefit from effortful retrieval?
(2015-04-23) Rivas, Alda G; Logan, Jessica M.; Beier, Margaret E; Fischer-Baum, Simon J
The testing effect is the finding that memory benefits are higher after taking a test than after re-studying. This effect has been attributed to a higher level of effort to retrieve information during a learning phase. In the present study, younger and older adults from the community read four essays and then either re-read the essay or took a test. The tests differed in the level of effort required to recall the information. Two days later, participants took final short answer tests for all essays. The percentage of correct recall was higher for the low-effort conditions (initial multiple-choice) compared to the re-study condition (testing effect). No testing effect was found for the short answer condition. These results indicate that, in a sample of participants from the community, increasing retrieval effort does not always produce greater enhancements to learning. Multiple-choice tests can still be highly effective and convenient boosters for learning.
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How Do Skills Shape Trainee Perceptions of Effort and Interest in Training? A Lifespan Development Perspective
(2023-11-28) Davenport, Meghan; Beier, Margaret E
Due to a confluence of an aging workforce and technology change, individuals must engage in skill learning throughout the lifespan, often outside of the bounds of an employer. Based on lifespan development theories, people choose goals in response to the growth, maintenance, and decline inherent in aging (P. B. Baltes & Baltes, 1990; Carstensen et al., 1999). Therefore, a person’s existing skills’ alignment to training should impact how they judge the effortfulness and desirability of engaging in the training (Kanfer & Ackerman, 2004). Age-related changes in motivational processes should impact how a person’s skill profile influences their effort perceptions and interest, which may differ between types of training (people-focused vs. things-focused skill training). I conducted a pilot study (N = 70, Mage = 40.1) and a focal study (N = 493, Mage = 39.1) of job-seeking adults ages 18-60. Participants self-reported their skill level across twenty skills, then reported their perceptions of how interesting and effortful four trainings seemed based on descriptions. A separate sample of 10 subject matter experts’ ratings of each of twenty skill’s relevance to each of the trainings were used to create four separate keys (one for each training). Each key was used to score participants’ skill profiles’ alignment to each training. I used multilevel modeling to analyze the data, which included responses related to each of the four trainings clustered within-person. A participant’s level of skill alignment was significantly negatively related to perceptions of effort required to learn from a training (γ = -0.171, p < .001), and positively related to their level of interest in the training (γ = 0.349, p < .001). Age interacted significantly with skill alignment to impact effort perceptions, such that older participants were more sensitive to their skill alignment to a training when judging its effortfulness (γ = -0.133, p < .05). Surprisingly, age did not significantly interact with skill alignment to affect interest in training and training type did not change the relationship. By integrating the job search, lifespan development, and motivation literatures, this work can inform potential interventions to improve career outcomes for jobseekers.
Mind Wandering and Self-directed Learning: Testing the Efficacy of Self-Regulation Interventions to Reduce Mind Wandering and Enhance Online Training
(2015-07-22) Randall, Jason Gilbert; Villado, Anton J.; Beier, Margaret E; Dane, Erik
Mind wandering, or the direction of attention away from a primary task, has been shown to harm primary task performance, including learning, and to negatively influence individual affect and mood. Mind wandering poses a significant threat in modern training that often occurs in self-directed online formats, and is therefore particularly susceptible to variability in individual attention. There are three major hypotheses as to why the mind wanders: the current concerns, executive failure, and meta-awareness accounts. In order to encourage on-task focus in a self-directed, online training environment, and to test the efficacy of these three competing hypotheses as to why the mind wanders, I designed three interventions that taught different self-regulatory skills in order to combat mind wandering during training. Adult participants were recruited online and were randomly assigned to complete one of the three experimental interventions prior to training, or a control intervention that taught principles of internet safety. All participants then completed a three-hour Excel training program online, intermittently reporting their degree of on- and off-task attention. Pre- and post-training assessments of learning and affect, as well as mind wandering rates were compared between the four groups to determine whether the self-regulatory interventions were effective in decreasing mind wandering and benefiting training outcomes. Overall, the results suggest that mind wandering is associated with lower trainee reactions (affective and utility) and decreased mood valence. For only the executive failure condition was mind wandering also associated with knowledge and performance learning impairments. There were few differences between the control and experimental conditions and few differences among the experimental conditions. The data did support the idea that increased engagement in several self-regulatory behaviors decreased mind wandering, although the practice of these self-regulatory skills primarily did not depend on condition. Thus, claims of the relative effectiveness of the three hypotheses as to why the mind wanders are limited. Nonetheless, the results of this study inform individuals and organizations in the development and application of countermeasures to reduce mind wandering and enhance performance in self-directed learning environments. The findings also help integrate related theories of mind wandering, mindfulness, self-regulation, and learning.
Old Dogs and New Tricks: How Ageism Affects Trainer Attitudes, Trainer Behaviors, and Training Characteristics
(2018-04-20) Gilberto, Jacqueline Mary; Beier, Margaret E
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of age stereotypicality on trainer attitudes, behaviors, and training characteristics. Past research indicates that members of stigmatized groups, such as older adults, may be treated negatively during training. This treatment has the potential to negatively affect training outcomes for older workers. Participants were asked to test the effectiveness of an e-learning system and train another person, a trained confederate, on a Microsoft Excel task. Trainers were shown fake pictures of confederates and given scripted introductions which varied in age (i.e., middle or old) and stereotypicality (i.e., stereotypical or non-stereotypical). Participants were asked to assess expectations of trainee performance during and post-training training, as well as, self-ratings of training quality. During training, confederate trainees made scripted errors. Reactions to these errors were video recorded and coded for the presence of interpersonal discriminatory behaviors toward the confederate trainees. Contrary to prior research, no main effect of age or interaction of age and stereotypicality was found on trainer attitudes. However, marginal effects of age on training characteristics were found.
Perceived Work Environment, Job Characteristics, and Job-related Mental Health: How They Change and Interact Across the Working Lifespan in a 19-Year Longitudinal Study
(2020-06-12) Kim, Michelle Hyun Ji; Beier, Margaret E
The job demands-resources (JD-R) model suggests that work environment can be categorized into job demands and job resources, and that each has a significant impact on job attitudes, particularly on job stress and burnout. High job demands and low job resources create physical and psychological strain, which leads to negative job-related mental health. Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) and lifespan development and work motivation theory further suggest that people experience changes in cognitive ability, values, life goals, and affect with age. I propose that these age-related changes lead to changes in perceptions of work environment over time. The purpose of this research is to investigate how perceptions of work environments (e.g., job demands, job resources) change over a 19-year period and factors that influence and result from these changes. The study explored how changes in perceived work environments were influenced by changes in job characteristics (supervisor status, job complexity), and how the changes in perceived work environments influenced changes in job-related mental health over time. The current study uses participants (N = 1,036) from three waves of data over a 19-year study period from Midlife in the United States: A National Study of Health & Well-Being (MIDUS), which uses a national sample of Americans. The study used latent growth curve modeling to find that perceptions of job demands (b = -.132) and coworker support (b = -.053) decreased over time. The decline in job demands was greater in the older group (b = -.259, p < .001), but the decline in coworker support was greater in the younger group (b = .091, p < .05). Changes in supervisor status influenced the changes in perceived work environment (b = .335 to .383), but changes in job complexity did not influence the changes in perceived work environment. There was a positive relationship between changes in job-resources and job-related mental health (b = .524 to .1045), but the relationship between changes in job demands and job-related mental health was not significant. The study has the potential to help organizations create work environments that improve the productivity and well-being of employees across their working lifespan.
Personality Traits, Prosocial Knowledge, Charismatic Leadership Behavior, and Clinical Performance of Indian Medical Students
(2016-04-25) Ghosh, Kamalika; Motowidlo, Stephan J.; Oswald, Frederick L; Beier, Margaret E
Abstract This study replicates and extends findings reported by Ghosh, Motowidlo, and Nath (2015) that Indian medical students’ prosocial knowledge is positively correlated with their clinical performance. It examines the antecedents of medical students’ charismatic leadership behavior and its contribution to their clinical performance. This study also investigates whether the strongest personality determinant of prosocial knowledge and charismatic leadership behavior is different in a high power distance culture (conscientiousness) than in a low power distance culture (agreeableness). In a sample of 343 Indian medical students, students’ prosocial knowledge positively correlated (.21, p <.01) with their clinical performance. Although Indian medical students’ (N = 96 – 109) charismatic leadership behavior failed to show significant association with their clinical performance (.07, NS) and prosocial knowledge (.18, NS), it positively correlates with agreeableness (.43, p <.01), and conscientiousness (.40, p <.01). Contrary to expectations, conscientiousness failed to show stronger association with knowledge and leadership constructs, than agreeableness in India’s high power distance culture which demonstrates agreeableness’ role as a global predictor of prosocial knowledge. Practical and theoretical contributions of this study are discussed with recommendations for future research.
Qualitative Data Analysis and Biodata Measure Development of Rice Undergraduates' STEM Formative Experiences
(2018-11-30) Bradford, Brittany Caitlin; Beier, Margaret E
Underrepresented minorities (URMs), females, and first-generation college students declaring a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) major face unique challenges as they transition into college; moreover, they ultimately fail to graduate with STEM majors at rates commensurate with other students. Research has shown that children's formative experiences may impact their STEM self-efficacy, interests, and identity for the rest of their academic and professional careers. This study used a thematic qualitative data analysis of 35 semi-structured interviews with Rice STEM students regarding their formative experiences. Six theoretical dimensions were developed: math perceptions, science perceptions, classroom experiences, STEM identity, exposure to STEM, and parental expectations. Participants reported low exposure to science in elementary school, strong parental influence, preferences for hands-on and problem solving tasks, and teacher support. Next steps for this research involve developing and validating a biodata measure based on these dimensions and determining its predictive validity for STEM identity and self-efficacy.
Reasoning, Fast and Slow: Investigating Cognitive Abilities, Speed and Effects of Personality Traits
(2015-04-22) Shaw, Amy; Oswald, Frederick L.; Beier, Margaret E; Lane, David M
Previous research has suggested the existence of a general mental speed factor independent from general mental ability. However inconsistent empirical evidence suggests that the speed-ability relation might be more complicated than what was believed. Adopting the joint item response-response time modeling approach developed by van der Linden and colleagues (2006, 2007, 2009), the current study investigates the psychometric properties of the general speed factor and its relation to g in a reasoning task. Personality trait effects are examined as well to account for the speed and ability variances. In line with the earlier findings, results in the current study suggest that the reasoning speed and ability correlation is minimal and explanations for the mixed research findings are discussed within the context of individual differences and test situations.
The Effects of Structure and Metacognitive Prompts on Training Outcomes
(2015-02-27) Young, Carmen K; Beier, Margaret E; Hebl, Michelle R; Villado, Anton J
This study investigates the use of metacognitive prompts and training structure for a computer-based training intervention. It is framed in resource allocation theory (Kanfer & Ackerman, 1989) and includes a fully-crossed 2 (low vs. high structure) x 2 (no prompts vs. metacognitive prompts) experimental design to examine how different training methods affect training outcomes – performance and self-efficacy – via metacognitive activity. Individual differences such as cognitive ability, motivation, and goal orientation were also anticipated to affect trainee performance on a test of immediate and delayed performance. Results from this research indicate that structure affected scores on a delayed performance test but not immediate performance or self-efficacy. Furthermore, metacognitive prompts did not produce any predicted effects on performance. Future research should carefully consider the viability of metacognitive prompts for affecting training outcomes.
The Effects of Time and Material Constraints on Creativity
(2017-11-30) Shaw, Amy (Ting Xiao); Beier, Margaret E
In this era of intense competition and constantly changing business world, organizations rely on creativity from employees to innovate, adapt, survive, and succeed (Grant, 2011). Consequently, managers pay great attention to stimulants and obstacles to creativity in the workplace and try to provide favorable conditions that foster creativity (Anderson, Potočnik, & Zhou, 2014; Shalley, Zhou, & Oldham, 2004). Among an array of environmental factors, constraint, defined as a state of lacking resources or being limited, is often discussed theoretically but understudied empirically (Rosso, 2011). Modern organizations are often faced with constraints in time, money, technology, and materials that seemingly hinder their capability to create. Researchers and practitioners have wondered how, given the various constraints they face on the job, people working on new product development (NPD) projects are able to design creative products (Andriopoulos & Lewis, 2010). The dominant view in the literature is that constraint negatively affects creativity by inhibiting intrinsic motivation (Amabile, 1996), but some studies also found evidence to the contrary, suggesting that if managed in the right way, constraint may positively affect creativity (e.g., Andrews & Farris, 1972; Baer & Oldham, 2006; Csikszentmihalyi, 1997). The limited and inconsistent empirical findings suggest the lack of a clear understanding of how exactly different types of constraints affect creativity, underscoring the need for further investigation into specific conditions where creativity is positively or negatively impacted by constraints. This dissertation aims to expand the horizon of research on the effects of constraints on creativity by examining two specific types of constraints, time and material constraints, which often coexist in new product development processes but have not been examined simultaneously. Informed by the findings in Baer and Oldham (2006), I hypothesized that a moderate time constraint increases creativity per the activation theory (Gardner & Cummings, 1988) in Hypothesis 1, and that a moderate material constraint increases creativity because not having everything handy may stretch people to think creatively (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997; Shalley & Gilson, 2004) in Hypothesis 2. In Hypothesis 3, I proposed an interaction between time and material constraints, that the presence of a moderate time constraint enlarges the creative performance difference between the moderate material constraint and no material constraint conditions (with creativity in the material constraint condition being higher), because abundant material resources under time constraint may distract creators from devoting their cognitive resources to the most important aspects of the work. Additionally, I explored the moderating role of Emotional Stability on the interactive effect of time and material constraints on creativity, because research has suggested that Emotional Stability could be activated by situations (Tett & Burnett, 2003) and interact with situational factors (e.g., time pressure) to affect creativity through the situation-induced anxiety (e.g., Liebert & Morris, 1967; Wine, 1980). Considering creativity in the context of new architectural product design, I utilized Minecraft (the Education Edition) as the platform where a simulated artifact design task is carried out to measure creativity. Given that Minecraft is rarely used in psychological experiments, I conducted a validation study (Study 1) to investigate the construct validity of the Minecraft task scores. Results based on a college student sample (N = 103) suggested that the Minecraft creativity scores had appropriate associations with external variables as well as extant measures of creativity, providing validity evidence to support the use of the Minecraft task for measuring creativity. In Study 2, I utilized the validated Minecraft task as the creativity task in a lab experiment, where I manipulated the time and material constraint conditions to test the effects of constraints on creativity. Results based on a college student sample (N = 156) revealed that time constraint did not affect creativity, but material constraint increased creativity. Moreover, there was an interaction between time and material constraints, supporting my hypothesis that the presence of a moderate time constraint enlarges the creativity difference between the moderate material constraint and no material constraint conditions. Post-hoc exploratory analyses also revealed that Emotional Stability moderated this two-way interaction, suggesting that a time constraint-abundant material condition was more detrimental to creativity for those with lower Emotional Stability. Study implications, limitations and future research directions are discussed.
Virtual Teams: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review of Best Practices
(2015-08-28) Zimmer, Christina; Villado, Anton J.; Beier, Margaret E; Hebl, Michelle R; Wilson, Rick
Corporate activity is shifting towards globalization, and communication technologies are becoming more sophisticated, facilitating a quicker pace of change within organizations (Bell & Kozlowski, 2002). Thus, organizations are using virtual teams (teams who primarily rely on technology to communicate) to accomplish work more effectively and efficiently. Growing in tandem with organizations’ increasing reliance on virtual teams are the number of articles in the popular business press suggesting “best practices” for these teams (e.g., Forbes, Harvard Business Review). It remains to be seen, however, whether these best practices are substantiated by empirical research. Thus, the purpose of the current study is to (a) meta-analytically test the best practices found in the popular business press to determine whether they are supported by empirical evidence and (b) review theoretical qualitative evidence that supports or refutes the best practice when direct empirical tests are absent. The results suggested that many of the general categories of virtual team best practices from the popular business press were supported by empirical research (i.e., communication, community, leadership, and structured work). Other best practices received less support (i.e., selection), had mixed support (i.e., conflict), or were unable to be tested (i.e., cultural sensitivity and order of face-to-face communication). The more specific best practices did not receive equal attention in the empirical literature, and with the exception of trust, were supported by few studies or unable to be tested. Finally, the relationships between virtual team best practices and important outcomes might be more nuanced than they appear in the popular business press. The moderator analysis suggested team size and type of performance outcome influence the virtual team best practice-outcome relationship, such that small and large teams generally benefit more from virtual team best practices than medium teams, and best practices generally impact satisfaction outcomes to a greater extent than performance. These results contribute to the empirical literature by providing a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative review of empirically tested popular business press best practices of virtual teams as well as serving as a catalyst for future research and as a practical reference for practitioners working in organizations that use virtual teams.
Vocational Interest and Its Impact on College-to-Career Trajectory in an 11-Year Longitudinal Study
(2018-11-29) Kim, Michelle H; Beier, Margaret E
This 11-year longitudinal study investigates the effects of vocational interest congruence, personality, and alternative options on college-to-career trajectories over time. Theories of vocational interest suggests that these constructs will have an influence on choices and attitudes about major and job. However, sparse research has investigated the determinant factors of career trajectories over time - from academic outcomes experienced by graduating seniors to future job outcomes for workers up to seven years post-graduation. The study tracks a cohort of students (N = 158) from 2007 to 2018 examining their vocational interest, matriculation major interest, degree, first job after graduation, and current job data. The study results showed that an objective measure of fit was more predictive of academic outcomes and a perceived measure of fit was more predictive of job outcomes. Additionally, there was an increase in fit from people’s first job to their current job, and people with a greater number of career changes had a greater increase in fit over time. These findings illustrate that people’s perception of fit is still changeable and unstable early in college, but that it solidifies with time and experience, and that people tend to find jobs with better fit over time.

Browsing by Author "Beier, Margaret E"

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