Daniel Sachau

Resurrecting the Motivation-Hygiene Theory: Herzberg and the Positive Psychology Movement

Herzbergs motivation-hygiene theory is a popular but controversial theory of employee satisfaction. The theory was at the center of a long debate that focused on conceptual and methodological problems with the theory. Now, more than 30 years after the debate and despite multiple claims that Herzbergs theory is dead, emerging research from the field of positive psychology is surprisingly consistent with basic tenets of the motivation-hygiene theory. It may be time to resurrect Herzbergs theory. This article includes a summary of the motivation-hygiene theory, a clarification of long-standing misinterpretations of the theory, and an examination of the fit between Herzbergs theory and contemporary research on happiness, intrinsic motivation, and materialism. The benefits of returning to Herzbergs model are discussed.

Three Models for Short-Term Study Abroad

Nearly 250,000 U.S. college students participate in study abroad programs each year. A growing proportion of students are participating in short-term study abroad programs. Despite the large number of students in these programs, there are relatively few articles that describe how to start or manage a short-term, business-related, study abroad program. With this in mind, this article includes three examples of short-term study abroad programs: the summer semester abroad, the study tour, and the service-learning trip. Benefits of short-term study abroad programs are discussed. The article also includes tips for designing and managing the programs. The article is intended as a resource for faculty who are considering taking students abroad.

Sandbagging as a Self-Presentational Strategy: Claiming to be Less than You Are

Sandbagging is a self-presentational strategy involving the false prediction or feigned demonstration of inability. Three studies explored the individual differences and situational variables influencing sandbagging behavior. Study 1 demonstrated that the newly created Sandbagging Scale possessed adequate reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. The next two studies examined the social determinants of sandbagging. In Study 2, greater performance pressure led participants with higher scores on the Sandbagging Scale to predict worse performance on an upcoming task. In Study 3, participants with higher scores on the Sandbagging Scale were more likely to predict worse performance on an upcoming task to someone who was ostensibly evaluating their performance, but only when the individual did not possess prior performance information. Sandbagging is discussed as a self-presentational strategy used to reduce performance pressure and provide a low baseline against which subsequent performance can be compared.

The Prosocial and Aggressive Driving Inventory (PADI): A Self-Report Measure of Safe and Unsafe Driving Behaviors

Surveys of 1217 undergraduate students supported the reliability (inter-item and test-retest) and validity of the Prosocial and Aggressive Driving Inventory (PADI). Principal component analyses on the PADI items yielded two scales: Prosocial Driving (17 items) and Aggressive Driving (12 items). Prosocial Driving was associated with fewer reported traffic accidents and violations, with participants who were older and female, and with lower Boredom Susceptibility and Hostility scores, and higher scores on Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness, and Neuroticism. Aggressive Driving was associated with more frequent traffic violations, with female participants, and with higher scores on Competitiveness, Sensation Seeking, Hostility, and Extraversion, and lower scores on Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness. The theoretical and practical implications of the PADIs dual focus on safe and unsafe driving are discussed.

Cognitive Ability, Emotional Intelligence, and the Big Five Personality Dimensions as Predictors of Criminal Investigator Performance

This study examines the extent to which cognitive ability, the Big Five factor personality dimensions, and emotional intelligence are related to training and job performance of U.S. federal criminal investigators. Training performance measures were collected during a 17-week training program. Job performance measures were collected 1 year after the investigators completed the training program. Conscientiousness was modestly related to training performance. Cognitive ability and emotional intelligence were positively correlated with job performance. Neuroticism was negatively correlated with job performance. The relative benefits of using emotional intelligence and the five-factor model to select law enforcement agents are discussed.

SPECTATOR ENJOYMENT OF AGGRESSION IN INTERCOLLEGIATE HOCKEY GAMES

This study was designed to examine how player aggression in intercollegiate hockey games is related to spectator enjoyment of the games. The study tested the hypothesis that enjoyment of hockey is as highly related to aggressive aspects of the game as equally dramatic but nonaggressive aspects of the game. Six hundred twenty-four male and female spectators rated how enjoyable they found 16 games. Measures of enjoyment were correlated with a variety of game statistics. Results of the study indicated that aggression-related indexes, such as penalty minutes, were more highly related to enjoyment of the game than were nonaggression indexes such as score difference, shots on goal, and saves. However, power play minutes, which are related to both aggression and competition, were also highly related to enjoyment of the game.

Predictors of employee resistance to supervisors' requests

Abstract There have been few studies of either noncompliance with, or complaints about, supervisory requests. Consequently, little is known about the personality and attitude variables related to complying or complaining. The authors examined this issue among 306 part-time employees from a wide variety of organizations in the United States. They completed Hongs Psychological Reactance Scale (S.-M. Hong, 1992, 1994; S.-M. Hong & S. Page, 1989), Personnel Decisions, Inc. (PDI) Employment Inventory (1986, 1993), J. R. Hackman and G. R. Oldhams (1980) Job Satisfaction Questionnaire, and a questionnaire developed for this study to measure compliance and complaint. Scale scores for PDI performance, gender, scale scores for satisfaction with coworkers, and scale scores for satisfaction with supervisors were the best predictors of self-reports of compliance with supervisory requests. The score for trait reactance was the best predictor of self-reports of complaints about supervisory requests. Job satisfaction w...

Sandbagging in Competition: Responding to the Pressure of Being the Favorite

Previous research suggests that high sandbaggers are more likely to sandbag when performance pressure is high. The current research proposed that (a) being favored in competition increases performance pressure and (b) high sandbaggers will be more likely to sandbag when favored in competition. Experiment 1 demonstrated that favored competitors are perceived as being under more pressure and that high sandbaggers believe that this pressure is related to choking. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that when favored in competition, high sandbaggers are more likely to sandbag. Results suggest that being favored in competition leads to additional performance pressure and that high sandbaggers respond to this pressure by sandbagging. Data also further demonstrate the distinction between sandbagging and self-handicapping.

Is Cleanliness Next to Godliness? The Role of Housekeeping in Impression Formation

We conducted a study to determine if the cleanliness of an apartment would affect observer impressions of the resident. Participants (210 female and 126 male undergraduate students) read a story in which a character’s apartment was described as clean or dirty or in which no information about housekeeping was provided. For each condition, half the characters were male and half were female. After reading the story, participants rated the personality of the character. Poor housekeepers received lower ratings on measures of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Intelligence, and Femininity but received higher ratings on measures of Openness and Neuroticism. Results indicated no significant interactions between housekeeping and participant or character gender. Findings support the idea that housekeeping is a cue utilized in environmental impression formation.

Floating Data and the Problem with Illustrating Multiple Regression.

Students in a research methods course watched episodes of Star Trek (Coon & Roddenberry, 1967)and Star Trek: The Next Generation (Roddenberry, 1990) as an exercise to empirically test the validity of personality impressions, demonstrating the use of operational definitions, interobserver reliability, and behavioral observation. The students first viewed episodes to identify contrasting personality characteristics between 2 Star Trek captains, then operationally defined these in terms of relevant, observable behaviors. To test the hypothesized personality contrasts, students observed the characters in different episodes, recording observations according to the operational definitions.