Barbara Mae Gayle

Assessing Emotionality in Organizational Conflicts

The level of emotions remaining after an organizational conflict has the potential to alter the trajectory of organizational relationships. One hundred seventy-four employees and supervisors reported their memories of a conflict. Results from 11 different organizations indicate that the emotional nature of the recollected narratives increased if the conflicts were perceived as unresolved, remembered as an ongoing series of events, or discussed with the other persons involved in the exchanges. Also, the intensity of the recollected narratives of organizational conflict interactions was greater if the respondents were supervisors or managers or if the other persons involved were administrators. The ways recollected emotional narratives may affect future conflictual interactions and organizational relationships are discussed.

Meta-Analytic Examination of the Base-Rate Fallacy

ABSTRACT This paper is a meta-analytic review of the base-rate fallacy in persuasion research. The base-rate fallacy argues that individuals provided a set of statistical conclusions are unable to successfully utilize the statistical information when encountering contrary examples in a message. The meta-analysis provides empirical support for that claim. Results are discussed in the context of base-rate information versus an individuating narrative example. The potential consequences of these judgmental heuristics are applied to the assumptions and claims of the message sidedness/resistance to counterpersuasion literature.

Humor Works: Communication Style and Humor Functions in Manager/Subordinate Relationships

This study explored humor production and communicator style within the dyadic communicative relationship between organizational managers and subordinates. Research questions considered positive, expressive, and negative humor functions and manager‐subordinate relational style, communication style, sex, and dyad characteristics. Results indicated that both organizational managers and subordinates report using conversational humor, mostly positive and expressive humor. Results also indicate communicator image, dominant or affiliative communication style, and sex are related to the type of conversational humor initiated by organizational managers and subordinates. It appears that organizational power/dominance and sex are better predictors of humor usage than other characteristics. Overall, results suggest that relational factors, such as ones humor, may be important to the enactment of organizational citizenship behaviors among subordinates.

Strategies for Working with Elderly Clients: A Qualitative Analysis of Elderly Client/Nurse Practitioner Communication

Purpose To describe communication between nurse practitioners (NPs) and elderly clients. Data Sources A qualitative study using a focus group composed of 6 NPs and in‐depth interviews of an additional 6 NPs who provide care to elderly clients in a variety of settings. Conclusions The NPs described a framework of critical thinking, termed hypervigilance, which they enter before and during an interaction with an elderly client. Specific communication strategies were identified that increased the likelihood of compliance with or adherence to treatment regimens for elderly clients. Implications for Practice Hypervigilance is descriptive of actively working to merge nursing practice with traditional medical primary care practice. This finding raises the issue of the difference in practice between physicians and NPs in regards to communication with clients.

It isn't a matter of just being funny: Humor production by organizational leaders

This study explored whether organizational leaders recognize humor as part of their management style and how compatible the leaders ‘ humor strategy is with their overall communication style. Results reveal that leaders use more pro‐social humor than anti‐social humor in the workplace. Several relationships between the emotional aspects of humor production and the communicator style constructs indicate that leaders use humor as a socially acceptable communication technique to control groups and enhance their own communicator image.

Sex equity in workplace conflict management

Abstract Three hundred two managers and employees from eleven different organizations were investigated to determine whether there was a significant difference in the selection of conflict management strategies based on: 1) the sex of the respondent; 2) the sex of the other person; and 3) the sex of the supervisor. The results indicated: a) females were no more compromising nor any less competitive than males; b) respondents report using different strategies in a narrative question than they do answering a self‐report, checklist questionnaire.

Language intensity plus: A methodological approach to validate emotions in conflicts

This study examines the use of intense language in retrospective accounts of conflict interactions to determine if the intensity of the reconstruction is linked to qualities frequently associated with conflict interactions: resolution status, strategy selection, topic, and the relational status of the other. Results indicate that language intensity coding is a viable methodology for investigating the relationship between conflict features and emotionality. Results also reveal that intensely remembered thoughts are more likely to occur if the conflict was not resolved.

Embedded gender expectations: A covariate analysis of conflict situations and issues

A recent meta‐analysis of gender differences in the selection of conflict management strategies revealed small effect sizes. To explore the possibility that the primary experiments used situations and instances containing embedded gender expectations, 49 participants completed a survey evaluating the actual scenarios used in the primary research. They rated conflict strategies far efficacy, consequences, and gender bias and evaluated the scenarios for the male/female sex role appropriateness of each situation reported in the primary studies. A covariate analysis provides evidence that gender‐based cognitions play a small, but meaningful role in assessments of conflict situations.

Conflict management metaphors: assessing everyday problem communication

Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess the extent that metaphors are utilized to describe interpersonal conflicts reported in written journals and to determine the type and tonal qualities of the metaphors employed to describe interpersonal problems. Results indicate that few metaphors appeared outside the conflict journal condition prompting metaphor use and even when prompted, almost one third of the journal entries contained no metaphor. Results indicated that when metaphors were employed, natural world and physical and mental states type metaphors were most frequently used. The evocative meanings of those metaphors used most frequently involved troubled feelings and powerless feelings.