Caryn J. Block

Stereotype threat and feedback seeking in the workplace

Abstract This study examined stereotype threat ( Steele & Aronson, 1995 ) in workplace settings and investigated relationships of stereotype threat to feedback seeking and feedback acceptance. Results from a sample of 166 African American managers showed that solo status in the work group predicted perceptions of stereotype threat. In addition, stereotype threat related positively to indirect feedback seeking and discounting of performance feedback from superiors. These findings have important implications for understanding the causes of group differences in job performance.

Disabling the able: Stereotype threat and women's work performance.

Stereotype threat is the risk of confirming a negative stereotype about one’s group as being true of oneself. This laboratory simulation investigated the effect of stereotype threat on women’s performance of a managerial task and explored gender role identification as a moderator of the stereotype threat effect. Specifically, the effect of the stereotype that women are less competent than men in managerial and executive positions was examined. Male and female participants performed a managerial in-basket task in a stereotypically masculine or feminine sex role-typed condition. As hypothesized, women underperformed men in the masculine sex role-typed condition, but not in the feminine sex role-typed condition. These effects were moderated by masculine gender role identification, thus establishing a boundary condition for the stereotype threat effect.

6. Racioethnicity and job performance: A review and critique of theoretical perspectives on the causes of group differences

Abstract Workforce equality has been an important organizational and societal goal for many years, and a number of strategies for achieving it have been recommended and used. Yet, differences in job performance and important job outcomes such as promotion, advancement, and compensation still exist among racioethnic groups. This situation is important for OB researchers to address. What do we know about the causes of these differences? The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on racioethnic group differences in performance and related outcomes, and the models used to explain group differences. We find that four models are used as explanatory frameworks for exploring group differences: the Internal Trait model, Bias and Discrimination model, Response to Discrimination model, and the Organizational Context model. We examine these models and summarize the evidence for each. Based on the review, implications of the models for future research and for the reduction of group differences are discussed.

Contending With Stereotype Threat at Work: A Model of Long-Term Responses

Women and people of color are still underrepresented in many occupational roles. Being in a situation where one is underrepresented, and thus in the demographic minority, has been shown to be a factor leading to the experience of stereotype threat—the expectation that one will be judged or perceived on the basis of social identity group membership rather than actual performance and potential. Although numerous laboratory studies have documented the negative impact of stereotype threat on short-term task performance, its effects in applied contexts, such as work settings, remain unexplored. Utilizing theories from the social, organizational, and counseling psychology literatures, the authors propose a conceptual model of long-term responses to stereotype threat in the workplace. The authors posit a framework of possible responses to stereotype threat that include fending off the stereotype, discouraged by the stereotype, and resilient to the stereotype. Within each response set, there are numerous strategies that an individual can employ, with varying benefits and consequences. The authors conclude the article by suggesting an agenda for future research and discussing the implications of the model for understanding stereotype threat in the workplace.

The Dual Effects of Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Relationships to Research Productivity and Career Outcomes in Academe

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has been shown to be important for organizational effectiveness, yet less is known about the relationship between OCB and objective outcomes for individuals. We investigate the relationship between OCB and both short-term and longer term outcomes within the context of an outcome-based reward system. We also investigate a type of OCB specific to professional occupations, namely, professional service OCB. Using resource allocation and social exchange theories, we hypothesize that OCB directed internally to the employing organization may have a negative impact on individuals’ productivity and career outcomes while engaging in professional service OCB would be positively related to these outcomes. Results from a survey of 622 faculty members in research universities provide support for these hypotheses. Future research directions are discussed.

Diversity Trainer Preconceptions: The Effects of Trainer Race and Gender on Perceptions of Diversity Trainer Effectiveness

An important issue in designing diversity training programs is deciding who should conduct the training because the demographics of the diversity trainer may affect perceived training effectiveness. A total of 224 subjects participated in 2 experimental studies investigating the effects of diversity trainer race and gender on perceptions of diversity trainer effectiveness. The findings reveal that the race of the trainer, but not gender, influences trainer effectiveness perceptions and that the trainers personal experience with discrimination and knowledge of institutional discrimination moderate the relationship between trainer race and effectiveness perceptions.

Letting off steam or just steaming?: The influence of venting target and offender status on attributions and anger

Purpose – This paper presents an attribution appraisal framework for venting anger in conflict and empirically tests moderating and mediating variables previously overlooked in the literature.Design/methodology/approach – This takes the form of a 2 (offender status: high or equal)×3 (target of venting: offender, third‐party, or no venting) between‐subjects factorial design. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed.Findings – Results showed that attributions were greater when venting was directed at a third‐party than when venting was directed to the offender. Venting to a third‐party when the offender was of equal status yielded the greatest expressed attributions of responsibility and post‐venting anger. Venting to a third‐party resulted in greater anger than not venting, whereas venting to the offender directly did not show a significant difference from not venting. In general, greater post‐venting anger was found for equal status offenders than high status offenders. Attributions of responsib...

Call for Papers: Understanding Diversity Dynamics in Systems Social Equality as an Organization Change Issue

It’s been 70 years since Kurt Lewin began examining the social dynamics underlying discrimination and 50 years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act in the United States. Fifty years ago also marks the inception of National Training Laboratories (NTL) and The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science (JABS). NTL’s mission is “to advance Applied Behavioral Science in the service of social justice, oppression-free societies, and healthy individuals, groups and organizations in the world” (www.ntl. org) and JABS supports NTL’s mission through serving as a publication outlet for the exploration of group dynamics, organization development, and social change (www. jab.sagepub.com). Thus, it is fitting for JABS to house a special issue on Social Equality as it furthers NTL’s, and by extension, JABS’s, commitment to civil rights and continuing the work of Lewin on creating a more socially just society. While much has changed in terms of workplace equality in the past 50 years, with increases in numbers of women and people of color gaining access to places of power where they had formerly been excluded, much remains the same. Despite the election of Barack Obama as the first African American President of the United States, there are still very few women and minorities in senior leadership positions in organizations that hold power (political, government, corporations). For example, in 2014 men held 94.8% of Fortune 500 CEO positions, whereas women held only 5.2% (Catalyst, 2014). In addition, in 2014 Whites held 95% of Fortune 500 CEO positions, whereas people of color (Black, Asian, and Latino) held only 5% (Diversity Inc., 2014). Moreover, when women and people of color are in positions of authority, racial and gender dynamics often undermine leadership and derail organizational initiatives. There has been a great deal of research on understanding the causes of this persistent social inequality in organizational settings. Some of these studies focus on examining individual differences among various social identity groups (e.g., gender differences in 566493 JABXXX10.1177/0021886314566493The Journal of Applied Behavioral ScienceBlock and Noumair research-article2014

Letting off steam or just steaming?: The influence of target and status on attributions and anger.

Purpose – This paper presents an attribution appraisal framework for venting anger in conflict and empirically tests moderating and mediating variables previously overlooked in the literature.Design/methodology/approach – This takes the form of a 2 (offender status: high or equal)×3 (target of venting: offender, third‐party, or no venting) between‐subjects factorial design. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed.Findings – Results showed that attributions were greater when venting was directed at a third‐party than when venting was directed to the offender. Venting to a third‐party when the offender was of equal status yielded the greatest expressed attributions of responsibility and post‐venting anger. Venting to a third‐party resulted in greater anger than not venting, whereas venting to the offender directly did not show a significant difference from not venting. In general, greater post‐venting anger was found for equal status offenders than high status offenders. Attributions of responsib...

Understanding Diversity Dynamics in Systems: Social Equality as an Organization Change Issue:

A basic premise of organizational development is that organizations must adapt to the external environment, as not doing so invites the risk of entropy (Katz & Kahn, 1978). A critical component of the external environment is the changing nature of the workforce. Women currently make up the majority of the U.S. workforce (52%; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015), and in only 15 years (by the year 2032), people of color will represent the majority of the U.S. working class (Wilson, 2016). In addition, the workforce is becoming increasingly globalized with 76% of the world’s population currently residing in Asia and Africa (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2015). This evolving demographic landscape requires that organizations engage and motivate an increasingly diverse workforce. In recognition of the importance of these changing demographics in employment, much has been written about improving diversity and inclusion in organizations. In fact, there are a number of other special issues of journals currently devoted to this topic right now. However, as we noted in our Call for Papers (Block & Noumair, 2015), current scholarship and practice on improving diversity and inclusion focus primarily on individual-level understanding and interventions, via providing extra knowledge and skills training for women and people of color, or providing bias awareness training for leaders and managers. Interventions with this focus have not been effective in bringing about change in terms of having more women and people of color in senior leadership positions (Dobbin & Kalev, 2016). What is ignored in much of this work is the role that systemic factors play in influencing diversity and inclusion in organizations. Without a broader system-wide perspective, diversity initiatives are enacted narrowly, making change in part of the system rather than in the whole system. In addition, diversity initiatives are viewed in service of the interests of “diverse” groups rather than in service of the whole.