Jaime B. Henning

Test of Motowidlo et al.'s (1997) Theory of Individual Differences in Task and Contextual Performance

Although much attention has been given to noncognitive predictors of job performance, few theories have addressed why assessments of noncognitive abilities and orientations are predictive. Drawing on the work of Motowidlo, Borman, and Schmit (1997), a framework is tested to explain the proposed relationships among noncognitive abilities, cognitive abilities, and procedural knowledge. In this framework, procedural knowledge, or understanding of the social and psychological context in which core business processes are embedded, is proposed as a direct antecedent of contextual performance (Borman & Motowidlo, 1993, 1997). Further, both cognitive and noncognitive individual differences are proposed as antecedents of both procedural knowledge and contextual performance. Two studies, which provide initial empirical support for this framework, are presented.

Work-family conflict across the lifespan

Purpose – Research on work-family conflict has primarily focused on younger workers, with little attention being paid to workers across the lifespan. To address this gap, the current study aimed to examine work-family conflict for individuals aged 18 to 70, focusing on explanations for why age is differentially related to work-family conflict at different points in ones life. Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses were tested using data from two independent samples of working adults from the National Study of the Changing Workforce (n=3,552 and 2,852, respectively). Findings – The results supported a curvilinear relationship, with youngest and oldest workers having the fewest conflicting demands between work and home. Further, the results demonstrated that family satisfaction and the age of the youngest child help explain why these workers are less likely to experience family interference with work. Finally, work hours were found to mediate the relationship between age and work interference with family...

Sex and Ethnicity as Moderators in the Sexual Harassment Phenomenon: A Revision and Test of Fitzgerald et al. (1994)

Fitzgerald, Hulin, and Drasgow (1994) proposed that personal vulnerability characteristics (such as sex and ethnicity) would moderate the effect of sexual harassment on its outcomes. This paper argues that personal vulnerability characteristics instead moderate the effect of organizational sexual harassment climate on sexual harassment because of their role as identity markers within social hierarchies. Using a sample of nearly 8,000 male and female military personnel from four ethnicity groups, the proposition that organizational climate differentially affects sexual harassment frequency across sex and ethnicity was evaluated. Results suggested that sex is an important moderator of these relationships, but that ethnicity is not. Further, sex and ethnicity were not found to moderate the effect of sexual harassment on its outcomes. Potential generalizability of these results to other types of harassment (e.g., racial harassment, bullying), as well as needed future research in this area, is discussed.

Tests of the Validity and Reliability of the Community Service Attitudes Scale

Community service is deeply rooted in American culture (Spring, Grimm, & Dietz, 2008). Each year, over 60 million Americans, representing nearly a quarter of the U.S. population, participate in community service (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009). Community service is also actively promoted on college campuses through formal programs such as service-learning (Zlotkowski & Duffy, 2010), through extra-curricular activities such as alternative breaks (e.g., DuPre, 2010; North, 2010; Rhoads, 1998), and through organizations such as Greek fraternities and sororities (Hayek, Carini, O’Day, & Kuh, 2002; Robbins, 2004). Although there is no single set of unified, agreed-upon goals for these types of programs, most of them probably have the dual goals of (a) addressing a specific need directly through service and (b) creating positive attitudes toward community service in general. (A full review of the outcomes of service programs is beyond the scope of this article, but see Astin, Sax, & Avalos, 1999, and Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005.) There have been repeated calls for the necessity of evaluating these programs, especially for service-learning (e.g., Butin, 2003; Gelmon, 2000; Holland, 2001), and these calls are likely to grow stronger in the demanding environment where accountability must be documented and funding grows more stringent (Leveille, 2006). Porter (2011) noted that many programs are thoughtfully designed and executed, but the challenge in the field is to systematically demonstrate the effectiveness of these programs. Unfortunately, there is not a well-established and generalized measure for assessing the effects of each program, especially with regard to creating positive attitudes. If a validated measure were available, it would encourage systematic and objective program evaluation. Such systematic research would help identify programs that are truly achieving their goals and help build a science of community service. The purpose of this research was to validate an easy-to-use scale that measures 10 components of students’ attitudes toward community service.