Joseph N. Scudder

The impact of task and cognitive style on decision-making effectiveness using a geographic information system

A laboratory experiment is conducted to investigate how two individual cognitive style factors, field dependence and need-for-cognition, relate to decision-making performance for a spatial task. The intent of the investigation is to establish a methodology for measuring cognitive fit for spatial tasks. The experiment assesses the performance of 142 subjects on a site location task where the problem complexity and availability of a geographic information system are manipulated on two levels. Significant relationships are found for both field dependence and need-forcognition with the two dependent performance variables, solution time and percent error.

Test of a Model Linking Cognitive Motivation, Assessment of Alternatives, Decision Quality, and Group Process Satisfaction

The proposed model links cognitive motivation to the assessment of alternatives, decision quality, and group satisfaction in Ventana Corporations GroupSystemsm environment. The proposed model hypothesized a direct link between cognitive motivation, as operationalized by Petty and Cacioppos (1986) Need for Cognition (NFC) construct, and assessment of alternatives. This link was confirmed. Group assessment of alternatives was hypothesized to have a direct effect upon the quality of decision and satisfaction with group process. These links were confirmed. The hypothesized link between quality of decision and satisfaction with group process was, however, not supported. The finding that higher quality decisions result from greater member input concerning the value of alternative choices bolsters the importance of establishing a comprehensive survey of the options. Group composition issues are discussed.

Reasons Registered Nurses Report Serious Wrongdoings in a Public Teaching Hospital

This study examined reasons a registered nurse would report a wrongdoing within a public teaching hospital. Of a group of 238 initial respondents, 30% reported they had observed a wrongdoing in the past year, with 68 nurses indicating they had reported a wrongdoing in the past year. The latter group was the focus of this study. They indicated through a self-report survey that incidents threatening the well-being of patients and their professional ethics were more likely to be reported within their organizations. Observer anonymity was perceived to have a small, but important effect on nurses reporting a wrongdoing in this sample. A manipulation check of the initial 238 respondents revealed a very strong tendency for nurses to overlook a serious mistake by a close peer who had a reputation of being a “competent” nurse.

Organizational newcomers: Temporary and regular employees, same‐sex and mixed‐sex superior‐subordinate dyads, supervisor influence techniques, subordinates communication satisfaction, and leader‐member exchange

This study examined the relationship between newly hired employees’ characteristics (i.e., temporary vs. regular employee, superior‐subordinate gender‐dyad combinations), supervisors initial tactics of influence, subordinate communication satisfaction, and quality of leader‐member exchange. Results from 148 (71 temporary) new hires indicated (a) employee characteristics were not significantly related to the leader‐member exchange, (b) supervisors initial use of prosocial influence tactics were significantly and positively related to the quality of leader‐member exchange, and (c) subordinates’ satisfaction with communication was significantly and positively related to the quality of leader‐member exchange.

Perceptions of Leader-Member Exchange: Comparison of Permanent and Temporary Employees

This study was done to explore how perceived scores for leader-member exchange varies among temporary employees and permanent employees. Study of 158 subordinates indicated no significant difference between the two member groups.

The influence of applicant characteristics on use of verbal impression management tactics in the employment selection interview

This study investigated the relationship between applicant characteristics and their impression management (IM) tactics used in 51 videotaped employment interviews. Findings show verbal aggressiveness is significantly related to self‐enhancement and entitlements tactics. Data also confirmed significant differences between male and female applicants, African American, Latino/a American, and European American applicants, and temporary and permanent employment applicants and their use of IM tactics. No significant relationship was found between communication apprehension and argumentativeness of the applicants and their use of IM tactics.

Recruitment Strategies for New Industry.

In light of the growing competition for new industry, the skills of public relations professionals are greatly needed to promote and sell the attributes of communities seeking such industry. The extant literature on the effectiveness of community marketing programs consists for the most part of opinion, intuition, and accounts of marketing tactics. To provide an empirical foundation for the use of communication strategies in community recruitment programs, the present study compared the communication strategies of small communities having successful recruitment programs with small communities having unsuccessful recruitment programs. Using a questionnaire calling for quantitative and qualitative responses, several differences were found between the communication strategies of the successful and unsuccessful communities: (1) The existence of a marketing program was positively related to the success of a community in recruiting industry; (2) outstanding, unique area features did not necessarily account for recruitment success; (3) direct mail with brochures and personal contact were more common marketing methods among successful recruiters; (4) recruitment success was more related to expenditures per capita rather than overall budget; and (5) personal contact strategies were perceived as being highly effective by many successful respondents.

Applicants' preference for impression management tactic in employment interviews by Transportation Security Administration.

Following past findings on employment interviews, this study hypothesized applicants would have a preference for using self-promoting tactics of impression management over other focuses. Self-reports of impression management tactics were collected from 124 applicants who had interviews for screener positions with the Transportation Security Administration. Contrary to the hypothesis, analysis indicated participants reported they used more ingratiation tactics attempting to praise the interviewer than self-promotion tactics which focused on their own accomplishments. Special qualifications for security jobs which required well-developed perceptual abilities and the controlling structure of the interview context were perhaps responsible for present results differing from prior findings.

Influence, beliefs, appraisals, and affect: A test of appraisal theory in a mediated context

Abstract This study extended appraisal theory to a mediated context. A moral advocacy campaign was examined to consider the relative importance of personal beliefs in the influence process as compared to the noxiousness of the message. Affect, the noxiousness of the message, and beliefs were found to play important roles in the influence model, but beliefs did not perform as specified in the model. Contrary to the specified appraisal model, beliefs were found to have a direct effect on the development of affect rather than the indirect effect that was proposed. Reactions to the influence messages varied in relation to segmented beliefs about abortion. Implications for practice are discussed.