Erich H. Witte

Revisiting Creativity Research: An Investigation of Contemporary Approaches

In this study, contemporary creativity research was investigated by conducting an analysis of dissertation abstracts. Keywords relating to creativity were used to collect a sample from an online database. The abstracts were coded by discipline, research aspect (trait, process, or product), social level of analysis (individual, group, organization, or culture), and research approach (empirical vs. theoretical; quantitative vs. qualitative). Classification trees were built to explore the relationships between disciplines and their terminology, research aspect and social level of analysis. The results show that the terms creativity and innovation are used interchangeably by some disciplines, and diverse creativity research in terms of aspect and social level are produced within single disciplines. Besides indicating that disciplines overlap in their activity, these findings suggest new trends in research aspects and social levels.

Toward a Group Facilitation Technique for Project Teams

This article presents the development of a group facilitation technique (PROMOD — Procedural Moderation). The author points toward the importance of integrating theoretical assumptions, theory testing and basic empirical research with practical application. The results are based on the observation of various three-member task groups faced with a complex non-heureka problem. These comprise naturally interacting groups, simple arithmetic assembled groups of individuals without any interaction (synthetic groups), and groups in which a group technique of reduced interaction which focuses on individual contribution through facilitated knowledge elicitation is applied.The task involves decisions on what to do after a plane crash and ranking objects with regard to their importance for survival in an alarming situation (Lafferty & Pond, 1974). The group decision quality is determined by relating to conclusions reached by an independent expert. Results indicate that the observed teams performed best when the PROMOD procedure was applied.

Justification of War and Terrorism. A Comparative Case Study examining Ethical Positions based on Prescriptive Attribution Theory

Abstract. In this study, examples of war and terrorism from both Western and Arab countries were examined with respect to the underlying ethical positions of justifications that have been publicized. In a rating process, we analyzed speeches and explanations of (1) the American government justifying the military strikes in Afghanistan (2001-) and the war in Iraq (2003-), (2) the Red Army Faction justifying terrorist attacks they perpetrated in Germany (1972-1984), (3) the former President of Iraq justifying the war against Iran (1980-1988), and (4) members of Al Qaeda justifying terrorist acts (2001-2004). The ethical justification patterns are presented, compared, and discussed with respect to the influences of culture and type of political violence. The results reveal significant differences between the kinds of aggression as well as between Western and Arab countries, with the cultural factor proving to be more essential.

From the Interindividual to the Intraindividual Level Is the Circumplex Model of Values Applicable to Intraindividual Value Profiles

According to Schwartz’s theoretical model of values, personal values are integrated in a two-dimensional circumplex structure, reflecting conflicts and compatibilities of their motivational contents. Albeit in large number, so far, all empirical studies supporting the model were based on correlations across individuals, thus capturing the circumplex structure as an emergent phenomenon of the sample. Using large representative data sets from 17 European countries, we test whether the structure also accounts for value conflict and congruity on the intraindividual level and whether this generalizes across cultures. Despite some intercultural differences in the degree, we find the circumplex model generally to be a good representation of intraindividual value (in-)compatibilities. The fit to the model was moderated by age and value preference: Persons whose value profiles show a poor fit to the model are (a) younger than the majority and (b) endorse values that are usually considered less important. Implications for research on motivational conflicts and compatibilities of values are discussed.

“It was right to do it, because .. .”

We propose a theory of prescriptive attribution as a theoretical framework for research on the justification of actions. Justification is viewed as one possible strategy of account-giving necessitated by violations of socially shared standards of conduct. The theory makes two main assumptions. First, at the core of every justification is an at least implicit reference to a basic ethical principle. Second, justifications are in several respects similar to reason attributions; they can, therefore, be conceived of as “prescriptive attributions.” Variables that affect prescriptive attributions include factual characteristics of the action and its context, stable personality characteristics of the justifying person, and temporary motivational biases such as impression management concerns.

FORMOD und PROMOD

Zusammenfassung. Innerhalb von Organisationen und Betrieben wird durch den Einsatz von Arbeits- und Projektgruppen ein “Gruppenvorteil“ in Form besserer Ergebnisse, schnellerer Entscheidungsfindung...

Reconstructing Recent Work on Macrosocial Stress as a Research Program

ABSTRACT We reconstruct recent work on macrosocial stress (Chou, Parmar, & Galinsky, 2016) as if it were an instance of a research strategy that tests point-alternative hypotheses within a full-fledged research program. Because this strategy is free of various deficits that beset dominant strategies (e.g., meta-analysis, Bayes factor analysis), our article demonstrates one way in which the confidence crisis may be overcome.

Extending a Multilab Preregistered Replication of the Ego-Depletion Effect to a Research Program

ABSTRACT We reanalyze the recent multilab preregistered study on ego-depletion by Hagger and Chatzisarantis (2016) as if their data were obtained under the research program-strategy (Witte & Zenker, 2016a, 2016b). This strengthens Hagger and Chatzisarantis’s (2016) main conclusion, because our reanalysis more directly corroborates the absence of a medium-sized, or a small-sized, ego-depletion effect (d = .50 under α = β = .05; d = .20 under α = β = .01). We explain how a smaller ego-depletion effect of d = .04 can be tested under similar conditions, having determined this value by maximum likelihood estimation, and compare the research program-strategy to a standard meta-analytic integration.

Beyond Schools : Reply to Marsman, Ly, and Wagenmakers

ABSTRACT We respond to comments by Marsman, Ly, and Wagenmakers (2016) on Witte and Zenker (2016b).

Synergetische Führung – die Steuerung eines zukunftsfähigen Mikrosystems

Steigende Komplexitat, immer schnellere Veranderungsprozesse, wandelnde Arbeitsanforderungen und unsichere Zukunft: die Arbeitswelt ist heute eine andere als noch vor 15 Jahren – und damit auch die Anforderungen an die Fuhrungskrafte. Dennoch haben sich die Fuhrungskonzepte in den letzten Jahren in ihrer Systematik kaum verandert. Grundsatzlich wird immer noch das Fuhrungsverhaltnis zwischen Fuhrungskraft und Mitarbeiter in den Fokus gestellt. Doch diese personenbezogenen, elementaristischen Ansatze konnen den oben genannten Herausforderungen kaum adaquat begegnen. In diesem Kapitel wird die synergetische Fuhrung vorgestellt. Auf Basis einer vereinfachten Systemtheorie erhalt die Fuhrungsaufgabe ein neues Verstandnis: der Fokus wird von einer personenbezogenen auf eine organisationsbezogene (synergetische) Perspektive geandert. Es steht somit nicht mehr die individuelle Fuhrung von Mitarbeitern durch Vorgesetzten im Zentrum der Aufgabenbewaltigung, sondern das zielorientierte Funktionieren eines Mikrosystems. Bei der synergetischen Fuhrung werden alle Elemente zu einer Synthese verbunden, um das gemeinsame Ziel zu erreichen.