John R. Aiello

Electronic performance monitoring and social context: impact on productivity and stress.

In a laboratory study, the presence of individual- or work-group-level electronic performance monitoring (EPM) was manipulated as participants worked on a data-entry task alone, as a member of a noninteracting aggregate, or as a member of a cohesive group. The pattern of results suggested the operation of a social facilitation effect, as highly skilled monitored participants keyed more entries than highly skilled nonmonitored participants. The opposite pattern was detected among low-skilled participants. No signs of social loafing were detected among group-monitored participants. Nonmonitored workers and members of cohesive groups felt the least stressed. The implications of these findings for organizations adopting EPM systems are discussed.

The role of participation and control in the effects of computer monitoring on fairness perceptions, task satisfaction, and performance.

Procedural justice and social facilitation theories were used to investigate effects of 2 kinds of process control on fairness perceptions, task satisfaction and performance of complex, computer-monitored tasks. A laboratory study manipulated participation (high or low voice) and monitoring approach (monitoring, control over monitoring, or no monitoring). High-voice participants perceived higher justice. Monitored participants reported higher satisfaction with high voice and lower satisfaction with low voice. Task performance was poorer for monitored participants unless they had control over monitoring. Among those with control, performance was not impaired for higher baseline performers. The 2 kinds of process control had different effects on the outcome variables. Results suggest the value of considering variations in the kinds of control provided and the justice principles that may apply in predicting effects of monitoring procedures.

The development of personal space: Proxemic behavior of children 6 through 16

Observations were made of the personal space behaviors of same-sex pairs of children, aged 6–16. Results indicated that children used more space as they grew older and that adult proxemic behaviors were acquired by age 12. While in the younger children no sex differences were present for the proxemic behaviors of distance and body orientation, males were found by early adolescence to stand farther apart and at greater angles than females. The development of personal space and of sex differences in these behaviors is discussed in the context of social learning.

Crowding and Personal Control: Social Density and the Development of Learned Helplessness.

Although the experimental literature on crowding has expanded dramatically, much of this work has focused on one or another of a number of conditions, all plausibly caused by high density. Crowding has been operationalized in terms of the amount of space available (e.g., Freed- man, 1975; Stokols, 1972); close physical proximity (e.g., Aiello, Epstein, & Karlin, 1975; Worchel & Teddlie, 1976); behavioral constraint and interference (e.g., Schopler & Stockdale, 1977; Sundstrom, 1975); and increasing levels of social stimulation, unwanted interaction, and overload (e.g., Baum & Valins, 1977; Desor, 1972; Saegert, 1978). More recently, research has suggested that people respond differently to social and spatial antecedents (Baum & Koman, 1976; Stokols, 1976) and that studies emphasizing one of these conditions may not generalize to situations in which other conditions are salient. More integrative descriptions of crowding, focusing on its control-debilitating effects, have appeared (e.g., Altman, 1975; Baron & Rodin, 1978), and since both social and spatial conditions associated with high density may affect an individual’s ability to regulate social experience, the use of control constructs may provide a broader perspective with which to view crowding. At the very least, such a perspective should suggest interesting and important directions for future research.

Workload and social support: Effects on performance and stress

A work simulation was conducted to test the effects of workload on stress and performance. Social support was also investigated as a moderator variable. Two hypotheses were tested: (a) stress is an intervening variable between workload and performance and (b) social support moderates the workload‐stress relation such that workload leads to lower stress when social support is high. For the 1st hypothesis, a path analysis showed an indirect relation between workload and performance with stress as an intervening variable. For the 2nd hypothesis, there was a significant 3‐way interaction between workload, social support, and time. The interaction showed that, in the early stages of the experiment, high social support led to higher (rather than lower) stress. This “reverse buffering effect” did not occur during later stages of the experiment. Several alternative explanations are offered regarding the reverse buffering finding, including the possibility that stress leads to social‐support seeking behavior. One ...

Residential crowding and design

I The Study of Residential Crowding.- 1 Residential Crowding Research.- 2 Crowding and Behavior in Chicago, 1940-1970.- 3 Crowding in Urban Environments: An Integration of Theory and Research.- 4 Residential Density, Social Overload, and Social Withdrawal.- 5 Density, Perceived Choice, and Response to Controllable and Uncontrollable Outcomes.- 6 Field Research on the Effects of Crowding in Prisons and on Offshore Drilling Platforms.- 7 Perception of Residential Crowding, Classroom Experiences, and Student Health.- 8 Environmental Satisfaction in High- and Low-Rise Residential Settings: A Lewinian Perspective.- 9 Crowding and Personal Control: Social Density and the Development of Learned Helplessness.- II Crowding and Residential Design.- 10 Current Status of Work on Crowding and Suggestions for Housing Design.- 11 Generating Behavioral Data for the Design Process.- 12 Design Implications of Spatial Research.- 13 Density, Personal Control, and Design.- 14 Designing for High-Density Living.- Author Index.

A test of equilibrium theory: Visual interaction in relation to orientation, distance and sex of interactants

In a test of an equilibrium theory of social interaction, (1) females were found to engage in more visual interaction than males; (2) while a linear relationship between distance and amount of “looking” and average glance length Was obtained for males at two orientations, a curvilinear relationship between these variables was found for females in a face-to-face orientation, and (3) Ss, especially females, maintained longer glances when face to face.

A Further Look at Equilibrium Theory: Visual Interaction as a Function of Interpersonal Distance.

This paper presents a study that examined the relationship between visual interaction and interpersonal distance as it relates to an equilibrium theory of social interaction. Differential boundaries were found to exist for the effect of distance on five highly related male and female visual behaviors, exemplifying different overall equilibrium levels for the sexes. While males looked more as distance increased, females looked less after an intermediate distance of 6.5 feet. These data support a modified equilibrium model that posits that eye contact functions to regulate the comfort of an interaction and is also a response to the degree of interaction comfort; further, comfortable interaction distances promote eye contact and, more importantly, uncomfortable distances diminish it. Because women tend to be more oriented toward inclusive relationships, they are more comfortable at closer interaction distances and, hence, look more at these distances. At greater distance, however, they are more uncomfortable and, consequently, look less.

Personal Space, Crowding, and Spatial Behavior in a Cultural Context

Research interest in the topics of personal space, crowding, and spatial behavior has increased exponentially over the past fifteen years. This growing literature has indicated that the two primary functions served by the use of space are regulation or control and communication. One of the first systematic treatments of this domain was E. T. Hall’s The Hidden Dimension. In his book, Hall (1966) proposed that individuals from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds differ with regard to their spatial behavior, and suggested that these differences were reflective of different cultural norms governing the use of space within different societies. During the last decade, Hall’s ideas have stimulated a considerable amount of research and writing on the description and comparison of differences in the structuring and use of space. Unfortunately, only a small proportion of this research has examined spatial behavior within a cultural context. Nevertheless, this growing body of research has generally been rather supportive of Hall’s qualitative observations.

Sex of Subject and Gender Identity as Factors in Humor Appreciation.

Appreciation of cartoon humor was examined in male and female college students who had been categorized into one of four gender identity groups (masculine, feminine, androgynous, undifferentiated) on the basis of Bems Sex Role Inventory. Results indicated that males preferred sexual humor more than absurd humor, while females showed the reverse pattern. Furthermore, gender identity was related to humor appreciation only for females. While feminine females preferred absurd humor more than sexual humor, masculine and androgynous females were more appreciative of sexual humor. Finally, masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated males, as well as masculine and androgynous females, showed greater appreciation of sexual humor which portrayed females, as opposed to males, as the sex object or brunt of the joke.