Browsing by Author "Kanfer, Ruth"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Generations at Work: Don't Throw the Baby Out With the Bathwater
    (Cambridge University Press, 2015) Beier, Margaret E.; Kanfer, Ruth
    Costanza and Finkelstein (2015) are correct to highlight the dangers of using generationally based stereotypes in organizations. Although popular, these stereotypes are related to a stigmatization based on group membership that can be pernicious and discriminatory. Costanza and Finkelstein are also correct in their assessment of the state of the literature on generational effects: theory and research is woefully lacking. Indeed, a recent review of research on generations at work characterized this research as descriptive and neither theoretical nor empirical (Lyons & Kuron, 2014). Yet, as pointed out by Costanza and Finkelstein, the idea of a generational identity is salient and even appealing to many people. Why would this be if it were completely devoid of psychological import? People seem to resonate with the idea that, to some extent at least, they are a product of their generation. In this article we argue that the concept of generation provides a means to understanding how people process experiences within a cultural context. As such, consideration of generation is important to the development of self-concept, which in turn affects the development of attitudes, knowledge, and values. Although we agree that research on generations is problematic in its current state, we assert that it is too soon to jettison the psychological importance of generations in industrialﾖorganizational (I-O) research without risking throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
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    Successful Motivational Aging at Work: Antecedents and Retirement-Related Outcomes
    (Oxford University Press, 2018) Beier, Margaret E.; LoPilato, Alexander C.; Kanfer, Ruth
    The current study integrates ideas from the successful aging at work paradigm with theory and research on retirement motivation with a sample of midlife workers (Nﾠ= 397; Mageﾠ= 52.34; SD = 5.87) over a 16 month period. We conceptualized successful motivational aging at work as a typology of successful, usual, and unsuccessful motivational aging at work and provide empirical support for the validity of this typology. Motivation to work was defined as retirement age and post-retirement work intentions. We found that promotion-focused trait orientation and personﾖjob fit were predictive of successful aging classification and that work centrality and retirement-related attitudes were related to motivation to work outcomes. Successful aging at work classification, however, did not predict motivation to work outcomes, operationalized as intended retirement age and post-retirement work intentions. Our findings provide support for the dynamic process of motivational aging at work and provide evidence that trait and contextual variables can predict this process. Furthermore, we show that retirement decisions are complex and influenced by an array of work and nonwork attitudes.
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    Trait Complex, Cognitive Ability, and Domain Knowledge Predictors of Baccalaureate Success, STEM Persistence, and Gender Differences
    (American Psychological Association, 2013-08) Ackerman, Phillip L.; Kanfer, Ruth; Beier, Margaret E.
    Prediction of academic success at post-secondary institutions is an enduring issue for educational psychology. Traditional measures of high-school grade point average and high-stakes entrance examinations are valid predictors, especially of first-year college grades, yet a large amount of individual-differences variance remains unaccounted for. Studies of individual trait measures (e.g., personality, self-concept, motivation) have supported the potential for broad predictors of academic success, but integration across these approaches has been challenging. The current study tracks 589 undergraduates from their first semester through attrition or graduation (up to 8 years beyond their first semester). Based on an integrative trait-complex approach to assessment of cognitive, affective, and conative traits, patterns of facilitative and impeding roles in predicting academic success were predicted. We report on the validity of these broad trait complexes for predicting academic success (grades and attrition rates) in isolation, and in the context of traditional predictors and indicators of domain knowledge (Advanced Placement exams). We also examine gender differences and trait complex by gender interactions for predicting college success and persistence in STEM fields. Inclusion of trait-complex composite scores and average AP exam scores raised the prediction variance accounted for in college grades to 37%, a marked improvement over traditional prediction measures. Math/Science Self-Concept and Mastery/Organization trait complex profiles were also found to differ between men and women who had initial STEM major intentions, but who left STEM for non-STEM majors. Implications for improving selection and identification of students at-risk for attrition are discussed.
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    What's age got to do with it? A primer and review of the workplace aging literature
    (Wiley, 2022) Beier, Margaret E.; Kanfer, Ruth; Kooij, Dorien T.A.M.; Truxillo, Donald M.
    As populations in the United States and around the world continue to age, it has become increasingly important to understand how organizations can create working conditions that attract, support, and retain workers across the lifespan. In this paper, we provide a primer on current theory and research on age in the workplace. We briefly describe lifespan theories that have guided recent advances in the field, discuss the implications of these theories for an aging workforce, and provide an overview of current research streams that address the work and nonwork factors affecting performance, well-being, and workforce participation among mature workers. Based on this review, we provide recommendations for future research and practice.