Robert S. Billings

Measures of compensatory and noncompensatory models of decision behavior: Process tracing versus policy capturing

Abstract While a variety of techniques have been used to infer compensatory versus noncompensatory decision making, few studies have used multiple measures in order to evaluate their validity. Using a sample of 48 college students, this study examines two measures from a search task (the variability and pattern of search on an information board) and three measures from a rating or judgment task (nonlinear regression modeling, ANOVA measures of interaction and curvilinearity). The validity of these measures is assessed by their sensitivity to a manipulation of information load and their extent of convergence with one another. The variability of search on the information board and the ANOVA measures of interaction and curvilinearity all indicated an increase in noncompensatory decision making under high information load, while the regression modeling measure did not. There was some convergence between the regression and ANOVA indices, but no relation between the search task and rating task measures. It is concluded that the ANOVA measures of interaction and curvilinearity are more sensitive measures than the nonlinear regression procedure. The information board and ANOVA measures are apparently both valid indices of noncompensatory decision making; they may lack convergence because they represent different parts of the decision process (information acquisition vs combination) or require different responses (choice vs judgment).

The effects of response mode and importance on decision-making strategies: Judgment versus choice

Abstract Judgment and choice have not always been clearly distinguished, and there is little direct research on their effects on the decision process. As compared to choice, judgment is predicted to lead to more information searched, a less variable pattern of search, and a greater amount of interdimensional search. In essence, search processes that imply elimination by aspects will occur more often under choice than judgment. It is further argued that a number of variables may moderate this response mode effect. The potential moderator examined here is decision importance, which is predicted to produce analytical judgment processes prior to choice. Using an information search board, 104 subjects made decisions (choices or judgments) on candidates for residence hall advisor, under high or low decision importance. Response mode produced strong effects on all measures of the decision process. Importance had fewer effects; it affected the frequency of an intradimensional/variable search mode, but moderated the response mode effect only for amount of information searched. Given these results, several implications follow. Research which uses ajudgment response (e.g., policy capturing) should not be generalized to choice tasks. Also, requiring an explict judgment even when only the final choice matters may be a useful procedure. Further research is needed to examine the effects of response mode on additional outcomes, such as how the information is organized in memory and which alternative is actually selected.

The influence of positive affective states on task perceptions and satisfaction

Abstract The present study investigated the influence of temporary affective states on perceptions of task characteristics and task satisfaction. Affective states, or moods, were defined as emotion-like states which lack an obvious referent and tend not to disrupt ongoing activity. Subjects evaluated teaching assistant candidates under two levels of task design (enriched vs unenriched). Half the subjects were placed in a positive mood state by showing them a brief videotape of television/movie bloopers. The other subjects received no mood induction and were treated as controls. Dependent variables were ratings of task characteristics and task satisfaction. Consistent with previous research, a strong main effect for task design was found on both task characteristics and satisfaction. More central to this investigation, affective states also had a significant effect on task characteristics and satisfaction. Implications of these results for interpretation and use of the job characteristics model were discussed.

The Impact of a Change in Technology on Job Characteristics: A Quasi-Experiment.

A number of individuals were helpful at various stages of the research. Dr. Mitchell Shapiro was instrumental during the early planning. Dr. Robert Banasik, the technical consultant to the hospital, informed us of the impending change and facilitated entry. Numerous individuals conducted interviews and helped to prepare the data. The management of the dietary unit, Mrs. Keefe, Mrs. Vecozols, Mrs. Merryman, Mrs. Widder, and Mrs. Wilken, provided invaluable assistance throughout the course of the study. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the anonymous reviewers for their useful suggestions.

Validity of Scores on Three Attachment Style Scales: Exploratory and Confirmatory Evidence

This study reports the development of three attachment style scales. The factor structure of the attachment style construct was supported via exploratory factor analysis of attachment style scores from 1,181 recent graduates of one university and confirmatory factor analysis of scores from 545 recent graduates of another university. Additional evidence for the validity of scores produced by the scales was that scores on the new measures correlated with scores from previously developed scales and were associated as expected with scores on a measure of the Big Five personality traits.

On the Role of Goal Orientation Traits and Self-Efficacy in the Goal-Setting Process: Distinctions That Make a Difference

We conducted a field study to investigate how goal orientation traits and two variants of self-efficacy affect the goal-setting process and, in turn, performance. Participants were 255 college students enrolled in psychology or biochemistry courses at a large east-coast university in the Peoples Republic of China. Structural equation modeling analyses largely supported the argument that self-efficacy defined as a trait interacts with goal orientation traits, whereas self-efficacy defined as a state mediates the trait effects in the goal-setting process. The specific Trait × Trait interaction form was consistent with Dwecks original goal orientation theory and Brockners behavior plasticity theory.

The Emergence and Allocation of Leadership Resources Over Time in a Technical Organization

This paper reports a five-year longitudinal study of the management selection and allocation process in a specific, industrial R&D laboratory. Predictors included intelligence measures, interest pa...

Administrators' estimations of the probability of outcomes of school desegregation: A field test of the availability heuristic☆

Abstract Judgments of the probability of future events may be affected by the availability or ease of retrieval of past instances of the event ( Tversky & Kahneman, 1973 ). A number of specific characteristics of past instances have been suggested by discussions of the availability heuristic, among them number, relative frequency, relevance, familiarity, drama, and recency. However, most of these availability variables have been neither well defined nor examined empirically, and research on availability has generally involved judgments of nonconsequential outcomes in laboratory settings. Also, past theory and research have implied a model which emphasizes the number of instances recalled, with availability often operationalized as number. The nature of the variables affecting availability and the ways in which they are related to subjective probability are discussed and examined, using principals in a school system under a desegregation order. Participants made judgments of five possible outcomes of desegregation and judgments of various characteristics of past instances of these outcomes following school desegregation elsewhere. Results supported the hypothesis that the variables suggested by the availability heuristic are related to subjective probability and that two additional variables (perceived competence and valence of outcomes) do not add significant variance. Further, the other characteristics of recalled instances were found to be related to subjective probability when number is controlled. The importance of the characteristics of instances in predicting subjective probability was found to vary across the outcomes examined, although those characteristics which are probably ecologically valid were used most often.