R-3 Repository :: Browsing by Author "Hebl, Michelle R."

Browsing by Author "Hebl, Michelle R."

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Affirmative reaction: The influence of type of justification on nonbeneficiary attitudes toward affirmative action plans in higher education
(2002) Knight, Jennifer Lynn; Hebl, Michelle R.
It is popularly believed that justifying an affirmative action plan (AAP) through emphasizing the advantages that diverse students can bring to a college campus will increase nonbeneficiary support for the program. However, there has been little empirical support for this proposition, perhaps because previous research has not directly articulated to participants the value of a diverse student body. As such, a 4 (Type of justification: Compensation, Instrumental, Combination, or No Justification) x 3 (Type of AAP: Increased recruitment, Proportional Selection Quotas, or Weak Preferential Treatment) between-subjects design was used to determine how the explicit framing of an AAP influences subsequent reactions. Both quantitative and qualitative data from 216 White undergraduate participants revealed that the combination justification, which highlighted the benefits of the AAP to minority and majority students, was the most effective means of increasing support for the plan, regardless both of the type of AAP and numerous participant characteristics.
Are all mentors equal? The impact of diversity on mentoring relationships
(2002) Lin, Jean J.; Hebl, Michelle R.
This study examined the influence of mentor matching on job attitudes and the extent to which this relationship was mediated by the amount of gay-specific mentor functions gay and lesbian workers receive and further influenced by the centrality of a gay or lesbian individual's sexual identity. Results revealed that gay and lesbian proteges with gay mentors reported greater job satisfaction and job involvement than those with heterosexual mentors, who in turn, reported greater job satisfaction and job involvement than gay and lesbian workers with no mentors. Having a mentor, regardless of whether the mentor was gay or heterosexual, however, did not appear related to gay and lesbian workers' organizational commitment. No support was found for the proposed mediator and moderator variables. Implications for future research are discussed.
Attracting the best candiates: Is work-life balance really a priority?
(2001) Foster, Jessica Bigazzi; Hebl, Michelle R.
This study examines the degree to which applicants evaluating the attractiveness of a job place importance on the existence of work-life balance in organizations. A policy capturing approach was used to determine the judgment procedures of applicants rating a series of jobs described along five dimensions: salary, fringe benefits, opportunities for advancement, rewarding work, and work-life balance. A total of 139 adults and 43 undergraduate students read job profiles of 60 fictitious jobs and rated the degree to which they would be likely to accept an offer for each job. A series of independent regression equations was conducted to determine the relative importance of the five cues for each participant. The majority of participants valued work-life balance highly, and parents of young children were especially attracted by this job characteristic. The findings are discussed in terms of organizational recruitment and suggestions for further research are addressed.
Biases toward pregnant women in the workplace
(2008) Law, Charlie L.; Hebl, Michelle R.
The current study investigates reactions toward pregnant women in the workplace. Participants in an online study watched a video of an applicant (depicted as either pregnant or nonpregnant) for a professional development grant. Additionally, the applicant was either portrayed as stereotypically feminine (e.g., high in communality, low in agency), or stereotypically masculine (e.g., high in agency, low in communality). Finally, the applicant was presented as being either a member of a stereotypically masculine department (e.g., Electrical Engineering), or a stereotypically feminine department (e.g., Elementary Education). Results indicate that although pregnant women do not experience more positivity in the workplace, they do experience less negativity. Specifically, pregnant applicants were recipients of less hostile sexism and benevolent sexism than the nonpregnant applicants. Further exploratory analyses indicate that the applicant's personality, and perceptions of the applicants' warmth and competence strongly predicts the level of hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, benevolence, and resource allocation directed at them. Theoretical and practical considerations of these findings are addressed.
Bringing Social Identity to Work: The Influence of Manifestation and Suppression on Perceived Discrimination, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intentions
(American Psychological Association, 2012) Madera, Juan M.; King, Eden B.; Hebl, Michelle R.
In the current article, we explored whether manifesting or suppressing an identity (race/ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, or disability) at work is related to perceived discrimination, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. Participants included 211 working adults who completed an online survey. The results showed that efforts to suppress a group identity were positively (and behavioral manifestations of group identity negatively) related to perceived discrimination, which predicted job satisfaction and turnover intentions. These results suggest that diverse employees actively manage their nonwork identities while at work and that these identity management strategies have important consequences.
Child care disruptions and working mothers: An experience sampling method approach
(2003) Foster, Jessica Bigazzi; Hebl, Michelle R.
Within the last three decades the number of single-parent and dual career families in this country have nearly doubled resulting in a steady increase in the demand for high-quality, safe child care to replace the care once traditionally provided by stay-at-home parents. Unfortunately, the supply of quality child care has not kept pace with the increasing demand, leaving parents to struggle with the stress of lower-than-desirable child care and the disruptions that occur when there is a failure in such arrangements (Kahn & Kamerman, 1987; Miller, 1990). An important implication of this struggle is the effect that it has on parents' ability to cope and function effectively at work. Past research on the interference of child care problems at work has been sparse and required parents to provide retrospective reports. The current study used an Experience Sampling Method (ESM) approach to examine the day-to-day experiences of working mothers with children in child care. Participants responded to questionnaires four times per day during work using a hand-held computer and recorded disruptions from caregiving responsibilities, psychological outcomes, and self-reported work outcomes. Results indicated that mothers experienced a considerable number of child care disruptions, which were related to more negative work outcomes, including decreased productivity and concentration; and more negative psychological outcomes, including increased stress levels and work-family conflict. Participants reported significantly more disruptions during daily recordings than by retrospective reporting of disruptions during the previous year, indicating that ESM may be capturing aspects of child care disruptions not encapsulated in previous retrospective studies. Several significant moderators of the relationship between child care disruptions and psychological outcomes were found, including individual differences, such as neuroticism, family involvement, and parent-child relationship closeness; and social support, including spousal support and supervisor support. However, no significant moderators of the relationship between child care disruptions and work outcomes were found.
Childhood cancer survivors' workplace experiences
(2010) Martinez, Larry Ross; Hebl, Michelle R.
Recent advances in the treatment of childhood cancer have resulted in more and healthier working survivors than ever before. However, the current organizational literature has not investigated concerns that this group of employees may have. This research is the first of its kind to assess the workplace experiences of childhood cancer survivors. Results indicate that childhood cancer survivors generally report positive workplace experiences, willingness to disclose that they are survivors at work, and high levels of social support. The level of disclosure was predicted by individual characteristics including the centrality of being a survivor to one's self-concept and perceived organizational support. Disclosing at work was related to positive workplace outcomes including higher job satisfaction, organizational commitment, person/organization fit and worker engagement, and lower job anxiety and turnover intentions. Support from coworkers strongly mediated the relationship between disclosure and workplace outcomes. Implications for organizations and employees are discussed.
Confronting bias: How targets and allies can address prejudice against gay men in the workplace
(2012-09-05) Martinez, Larry; Hebl, Michelle R.; Beier, Margaret E.; Cornwell, John M.; Wilson, Rick K.
While many organizations have taken steps to protect minority individuals from the negative effects of prejudice and discrimination, such initiatives may be met with limited success. That is, prejudice and discrimination may remain major problems even with organizations who adopt organizational policies to enhance equity and reduce workplace discrimination. This dissertation examines the use of an individual-level strategy that individuals can enact in response to prejudice and/or discrimination, and that is the strategy of directly confronting the prejudice of their co-workers. This study examines the utility of confronting co-workers in the workplace with particular emphasis on the cognitions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions of third-party bystanders following witnessing a confrontation. I anticipated that the identity of the confronter (a member of the target group or an ally) and the level of conflict (high or low conflict) as well as the type of conflict (aggressive vs. calm, and personalized to the individual vs. generalized to society as a whole) in the confrontation would differentially impact outcome variables. Indeed, the results suggest that allies (versus targets) who confront elicit more positive behavioral intentions from observers to enact such strategies in the future; that high conflict (either aggressive or personalized) confrontations elicit more negative cognitions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions than do low conflict confrontations; and that targets and allies who confront have the most impact on third-party individuals if they utilize different strategies. Specifically, allies received particularly negative ratings when they confronted in an aggressive and personalized manner (compared to the other three strategies) and targets received relatively negative ratings only when confronting in an aggressive manner. These results held true in data obtained several weeks later. This research assesses the practicality of using confrontation as a prejudice-reduction tool and potentially informs future diversity management initiatives in organizations.
Customer service biases against obese individuals: A field investigation of retail service
(2001) Mannix, Laura Marie; Hebl, Michelle R.
Customer service is a focus of much research attention and is linked to organizational outcomes. This thesis examines customer service behaviors toward obese versus average-weight customers. Because of the negative stereotype of obesity and widespread discrimination against obese individuals in many social and organizational contexts, we hypothesized that obese customers would receive poorer service than average-weight customers. We also proposed several potential moderators of the relationship between obesity and customer service. Data supported our first two hypotheses, but overall no effects of hypothesized moderators emerged. Results are discussed in terms of stigma and customer service.
Diversity in work groups: The impact of actual and perceived differences on group functioning and performance
(2008) de Chermont, Kelly; Hebl, Michelle R.
The widespread prevalence in the utilization of groups across different aspects of our society including social settings, workplaces, and educational settings has long piqued researchers' interests in understanding the psychological processes involved in groups. One particularly interesting psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group setting is the formation of perceptions of group diversity and the impacts that these perceptions have on the attitudes and behaviors of group members. Despite the theoretical rationale for the importance of perceptions of diversity that is provided by intergroup contact theory and individuation research, work group diversity research has been limited in empirically examining the impacts that perceived diversity on group functioning and performance. This study takes the first step in this direction by conceptually and empirically defining perceived diversity and examining the effects of actual diversity and perceived diversity on group functioning and performance. Findings of this research provide empirical evidence to support the inclusion of perceived diversity in work group diversity research as a distinct construct that has impacts on group functioning and performance.
Experimental sleep loss, racial bias, and the decision criterion to shoot in the Police Officer’s Dilemma task
(Springer Nature, 2020) Scullin, Michael K.; Hebl, Michelle R.; Corrington, Abby; Nguyen, Stacy
Violent behavior, police brutality, and racial discrimination are currently at the forefront of society’s attention, and they should be. We investigated whether mild sleep loss—as typical for many adults throughout the work week—could aggravate the socio-emotional-cognitive processes contributing to violence and discrimination. In a sample of 40 healthy young adults, we either experimentally restricted participants’ sleep for four nights (6.2 h/night) or let participants obtain normal sleep (7.7 h/night)—and then had them complete the Police Officer’s Dilemma Task. In this computerized task, the participant must rapidly decide to shoot or not shoot at White and Black men who either are or are not holding a gun. Results showed significant racial biases, including more and quicker shooting of Black targets compared to White targets. Furthermore, signal detection analyses demonstrated that mild sleep restriction changed participants’ decision criterion, increasing the tendency to shoot, even when controlling for psychomotor vigilance, fluid intelligence, and self-reported desirability to behave in a socially acceptable manner. The increased tendency to shoot was also observed in participants who reported believing that they had adapted to the sleep loss. Future experimental research using trained police officers will help establish the generalizability of these laboratory effects. Importantly, sleep loss is modifiable via organization-level changes (e.g., shift scheduling, light entrainment) and individual-level interventions (e.g., sleep hygiene education, incentives for behavioral change), suggesting that if sleep loss is corrected, it could save lives—including Black lives.
Falling into debt, feeling out-group threat, and going to work upset: The influence of economic threat on attitudes toward organizational diversity policies
(2004) Knight, Jennifer Lynn; Hebl, Michelle R.
Realistic group conflict theory (LeVine & Campbell, 1972) posits that people advocate policies that promote their personal and group interests, whereas they resist policies that advance the relative standing of out-group members. Consequently, diversity policies may elicit threat among some employees regarding their group's status, especially during periods when economic resources are scarce. To test the viability of realistic group conflict in an organizational context, both survey (N = 790) and experimental ( N = 108) methodologies were used to explore the influence of economic threat on subsequent acceptance of, or resistance to, organizational diversity policies. As expected, the cross-sectional survey data indicated that the strongest predictor of attitudes toward a typical affirmative action plan was the extent to which respondents thought that the plan would negatively affect the opportunities for success of people similar to them in terms of race and gender. Likewise, an experimental manipulation of economic threat caused participants to be less supportive both of diversity programs and of diverse organizational employees. Furthermore, this effect was often moderated by zero-sum beliefs and social dominance orientation, such that participants low on each of these dispositional traits supported diversity programs more than participants high in these traits in the absence of an economic threat; however, all participants regardless of their score on these individual difference variables were less supportive of diversity policies after being exposed to an economic threat. This research has broad theoretical and practical implications, including helping organizations to recognize, understand, and ultimately reduce discrimination in organizations, particularly during times of economic difficulty.
The Impact of Interpersonal Discrimination and Stress on Health and Performance for Early Career STEM Academicians
(Frontiers Media S.A., 2016) O'Brien, Katharine R.; McAbee, Samuel T.; Hebl, Michelle R.; Rodgers, John R.
The present study examines the consequences of perceived interpersonal discrimination on stress, health, and performance in a sample of 210 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academicians. Using a path model, we test the relation that perceived interpersonal discrimination has on stress and the relation of stress to physical health maladies and on current and future performance. In so doing, we assess the link between discrimination and decrements in performance over time. Additionally, we test supervisor social support as a moderator of the discrimination-stress relation. Findings support relations between perceived interpersonal discrimination and stress, which in turn relates to declines in physical health and performance outcomes. Moreover, supervisory support is shown to mitigate the influence of interpersonal discrimination on stress in STEM academicians.
Just Saying "No": An Examination of Gender Differences in the Ability to Decline Requests in the Workplace
(2014-04-22) O'Brien, Katharine Ridgway; Hebl, Michelle R.; Beier, Margaret E.; Villado, Anton J.; Gorman, Bridget K.
Anecdotal evidence from popular culture suggests that women have a difficult time declining professional requests made by others. However, very little research has empirically addressed such claims. The current dissertation examines the possibility that women do not say “no” professionally as much as do men in three related studies. The first study examined the willingness that women (and men) show in saying “no” to work-related requests, along with gender norms that individuals hold toward others of their gender, individual differences in, and affective outcomes of saying “no.” Results confirmed that women do not feel that they can say “no” in the workplace and that this relates to other personality differences and outcomes. The second study examined the consequences of saying “no.” This experiment examined differences in raters’ reactions to a target who had been asked to head a committee by his or her supervisor, which differed based on the target’s gender (male or female), the nature of the task (whether self-serving or communal), and the target’s response (“yes” or “no”). Results supported a distinct preference for targets who did not say “no” to their supervisor and that participants rewarded women in particular with promotions and other rewards when they did not say “no.” The third and final study employed a two-week diary study that measured the extent to which individuals received requests and the nature of those requests and then provided two remediative strategies for men and women to reflect upon and consider requests. Results indicated that there were differences in the types of requests made of men versus women as well as different responses. Additionally, both interventions provided benefits to those exposed to them, though in different ways. The impact of the three studies together is the first-known empirical study to: 1) address the contention that women say “no” less often than do men; 2) illuminate a potential mechanism behind the behavior: the preference for individuals, particularly women, who do not say “no;” and 3) potentially offer remediative strategies for individuals to engage in to effectively help them deal with professional requests.
Making it to the top: Do family-friendly workplaces support the advancement of women?
(2004) King, Eden Benedetto; Hebl, Michelle R.
Following an expansionist theory of work and family (Barnett & Hyde, 2001), the current study explores organizational factors that contribute to beneficial effects of having multiple roles for working parents. It was predicted and found that informal and formal support for families alleviates negative spillover and amplifies positive spillover between work and family roles. The results further indicate that the extent to which individuals' home lives positively affect their work lives facilitates their advancement. Contrary to the hypotheses, these effects were weaker for mothers than for fathers or individuals without children. As such, the current study contributes to a growing understanding of the difficult balance between work and family and uniquely considers its impact on women's advancement in organizations.
Managers' distribution of developmental experiences in the workplace
(2005) Kazama, Stephanie M.; Hebl, Michelle R.
The current research investigates the amount and quality of the developmental work experiences engaged in by male and female managers. Managers reported the extent to which they had participated in ten quantitative work experiences in the last five years, as well as how challenging these experiences were and how much feedback and support they received during these experiences. Results indicated that while male and female managers do report participating in similar amounts of developmental experiences, male managers report engaging in more qualitatively challenging experiences than female managers. This finding suggests there may be subtle differences in the distribution of developmental work experiences. Further exploratory analyses indicate that female managers report having more supervisor influence in the choice of their developmental work experiences than do male managers, and receive less negative feedback than do male managers. Theoretical and practical considerations of these findings will be addressed.
Reactions to stigmas in the employment interview: An eye tracking investigation
(2008) Madera, Juan M.; Hebl, Michelle R.
Although the employment interview is one of the most widely used and researched methods for selecting employees, interview are not free from biases, and in fact, research shows that individuals who have stigmas often face discrimination in the employment interview (Dipboye, 1997; Dipboye & Colella, 2005). Drawing from theory and research on perceived stigma (Pryor, Reeder, Yeadon, & McInnis, 2004), attentional processes (Rinck & Becker, 2006), working memory (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974; Engle, 2002) and regulatory resources (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000), this study investigated the processes in which a stigma on the face affects interview outcomes and methods that interviewees might use as remediation strategies. The results showed that participants that viewed an applicant with a stigma attended more to the stigma area and that visual attention to the stigma was related to more self-regulatory depletion and less memory recall. The data suggests that participants looking at applicants with a stigma during an interview regulated and experienced more divided attention than participants looking at applicants without a stigma. Furthermore, participants that looked at an applicant with a stigma rated the applicant lower than participants that viewed an applicant without a stigma. The results also showed that the relationship between stigma and applicant ratings was mediated by visual attention and memory of the interview. Acknowledgement from applicants interacted with time of visual attention affecting attention allocated to the stigma at different time points.
Targeting the subtleties: Strategies for remediating interpersonal discrimination
(2006) Singletary, Sarah LaTash Brionne; Hebl, Michelle R.
Recent research suggests that displays of discrimination have changed from expressions that were once very overt in nature to expressions that are more subtle and involve interpersonal behaviors (Hebl, Foster, Mannix, Dovidio, 2002). Unlike formal discrimination, there is little to no legislation that protects stigmatized individuals from interpersonal discrimination; hence, research on strategies for remediating interpersonal discrimination is becoming increasingly important. The current research examines three strategies (compensation, acknowledgment, and individuating information) that attempt to reduce the interpersonal discrimination that gay men and lesbians receive in a job applicant setting. Results show that employing a remediation strategy involving compensation or acknowledgment reduces the interpersonal discrimination that stigmatized individuals receive when applying for jobs.
The differential impact of formal and interpersonal discrimination on job performance
(2009) Singletary, Sarah LaTash Brionne; Hebl, Michelle R.
Previous research has examined a number constructs that are associated with the experience of discrimination; however, previous studies are limited in three ways. First, most research has focused on determining the attitudinal outcomes (i.e., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intentions) associated with perceptions of discrimination. Second, previous research examines discrimination primarily as an outcome and not a predictor. Third, previous research has neglected to examine discrimination during an ongoing social interaction. This dissertation corrects for these limitations and extends previous research by examining the impact of formal and interpersonal discrimination (either in isolation or combined) on performance. Results reveal a number of attitudinal as well as behavioral outcomes resulting from discrimination. Specifically, the experience of interpersonal and combined (simultaneously experiencing both interpersonal and formal discrimination) discrimination resulted in impaired performance. In addition, experiencing any type of discrimination (interpersonal, formal, or combined) reduced intentions to engage in future acts of helping behavior, positive perceptions of the assessor, perceptions of interactional justice, and independent coders' perceptions of participant effort on task. A number of theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
The effect of bias on the advancement of working mothers: Disentangling legitimate concerns from inaccurate stereotypes as predictors of career success
(2006) King, Eden Benedetto; Hebl, Michelle R.
Workers often strive to achieve the financial and psychological benefits that are associated with career success. Accordingly, organizational scholars have investigated the determinants of advancement in organizations. However, despite the increasing proportion of working parents and the potential incongruity between involvement in family and success at work, little research has directly considered the effects of parental status and responsibilities on advancement. This study examines the extent to which both genuine (i.e., self-reported) and perceived (i.e., supervisor-reported) behaviors and attitudes about work and family influence the success of working parents. As such, this is the first study to consider the relative importance of supervisor perceptions of work-family constructs in determining career success. Furthermore, drawing from social role theory, it is predicted and found that stereotypes about working mothers drive biased perceptions about their work attitudes and behaviors. Thus, this research provides empirical evidence to support the widely-held assumption that one mechanism underlying the "maternal wall" is bias toward working mothers.

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