Stephen J. Guastello

Chaos, Catastrophe, and Human Affairs : Applications of Nonlinear Dynamics To Work, Organizations, and Social Evolution

Contents: Preface. An Invitation to Chaos. Nonlinear Dynamical Systems Theory. Metaphors, Easter Bunnies, Modeling, and Verification. NDS, Human Decision Making, and Cognitive Processes. Dynamics of Motivation and Conflict. Stress and Human Performance. Accidents and Risk Analysis. Stress-Related Illness. The Evolution of Human Systems. Innovation, Creativity, and Complexity. The Dynamical Nature of Organizational Development. Chaos, Revolution and War. Epilogue.

Chaos and Complexity in Psychology: The Theory of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems

1. Introduction to nonlinear dynamics and complexity Stephen J. Guastello and Larry S. Liebovitch 2. Collective intelligence: observations and models William Sulis 3. Neurodynamics and electro-cortical activity Tullio Minelli 4. Psychophysics Robert A. M. Gregson 5. Temporal patterns in perceptual behavior: implications for dynamics structure D. J. Aks 6. Embodied and embedded: the dynamics of extracting perceptual visual invariants Patrice Renaud, Sylvain Chartier and Guillaume Albert 7. Origins of order in cognitive activity Geoff Hollis, Heidi Kloos and Guy C. Van Orden 8. Nonlinear dynamical systems in developmental psychology Paul van Geert 9. Developmental psychopathology: maladaptive and adaptive attractors in childrens close relationships Erika S. Lunkenheimer and Thomas J. Dishion 10. Psychopathology: a nonlinear systems view Wolfgang Tschacher and Uli Junghan 11. Coherence, complexity, and information flow: self-organizing processes in psychotherapy David Pincus 12. The dynamics of human experience: fundamentals of dynamical social psychology Robin R. Vallacher and Andrej Nowak 13. Group dynamics: adaptation, coordination, and the emergence of leaders Stephen J. Guastello 14. Organizational psychology Kevin Dooley 15. Complexity, evolution and organizational behavior Peter Allen 16. Agent-based modeling and dynamic network analysis Terrill Frantz and Kathleen Carley 17. Epilogue: psychology at the edge of chaos Matthjs Koopmans.

Do we really know how well our occupational accident prevention programs work

This article summarizes evaluation data for ten types of accident prevention program drawn from 53 program evaluations: personnel selection variables, technological interventions, behavior modification programs, poster campaigns, quality circles, exercise and stress management, nearmiss accident reporting, comprehensive ergonomics, the International Safety Rating System (ISRS), and the Finnish national control program. Standard measures of effect size were computed for source studies which described the effectiveness of programs in terms of the percentage reduction in accidents attributable to the program. By this standard, personnel selection techniques were the least effective (3.8%), and comprehensive ergonomics programs (49.5%) were the most effective. Some methodological issues in safety program evaluation are discussed in conjunction with some further thoughts on a previously published review of ISRS evaluation results (in 1991).

Methodological criteria for evaluating occupational safety intervention research

We describe the importance of evaluating workplace safety interventions. Based on the literature and other scources, we list eight areas for which readers can assess the quality of reports evaluating these interventions. The areas are: intervention objectives and their conceptual basis; study design; external validity; outcome measurement; use of qualitative data; threats to internal validity; statistical analysis; and study conclusions. Good quality evaluations can help avoid wasting limited time, money and effort on ineffective or even harmful interventions.

Managing Emergent Phenomena : Nonlinear Dynamics in Work Organizations

Contents: Preface. Scenes From the Nonlinear House of Panic. Nonlinear Dynamical Systems Theory. Structural Equations. Organizational Change and Development. Nonlinear Motivation Theory. Dynamical Theory of Creativity. Social Networks. Work Group Coordination. The Emergence of Leadership. Work Flows in Hierarchies. Nonlinear Economics. Dynamical Systems. Epilogue: Whatever Happened to Everything? Appendices: Data Analysis With Structural Equations. The Island Commission Game.

Origins of Coordination and Team Effectiveness: A Perspective From Game Theory and Nonlinear Dynamics

Coordination occurs when 2 or more people do the same or complementary tasks at the same time; it takes several forms. The form of coordination studied here was similar to behavior at a 4-way stop traffic intersection. The performance task involved 12 4-person groups and a special card game. Split-plot analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that coordination rules were implicitly learned and then transferred successfully to new rules of similar difficulty and that coordination can occur without verbal mediation or leadership actions. Transfer of coordination was less positive to a task of greater difficulty. Nonlinear regression showed that fixed-point attractors could be extracted from all learning curves. The difficult shift contained a second chaotic process and a critical utility threshold at which the difficult rule could be mastered ar not. Work-group effectiveness has been studied from a variety of perspectives; central themes have included cooperation, cohesion, incentives, task structure, size, and leadership attributes. In this project we focused on the dynamics of group coordination and traced its conceptual origins; here we report new theory, an experiment, and analytic techniques that explore the origins of coordination in groups. Coordination occurs when two or more people do the same or complementary tasks at the same time. Coordination is vital to group effectiveness in situations where a successful outcome for the entire group is the end result of numerous contributions or efforts by all group members and where successful contributions by one participant are contingent on a correct and timely contribution by another participant. Coordination among team members has been recognized as an important correlate of team performance (Bowers, Baker, & Salas, 1994; Brannick, Prince, Prince, & Salas, 1995; Brannick, Roach, & Salas, 1993; Cannon-Bowers, Tannenbaum, Salas, & Volpe, 1995; Coovert, Campbell, Cannon-Bowers, & Salas, 1995; Daily, 1980; Leedom & Simon, 1995; Stout, Salas, & Carson, 1994). Coordination has been operationalized

Androgyny, Gender Role Behavior, and Emotional Intelligence Among College Students and Their Parents.

Androgyny, gender role behavior, and emotional intelligence were measured in 576 students and their parents to examine the extent to which these variables exhibited generational effects or consistencies within families. Chi-square analyses indicated that sons were more androgynous in personality than their fathers, but that there was no significant difference in androgyny between daughters and mothers. The men also showed an increase in androgynous behavior across generations, whereas the women showed an increase in masculine gender-typed behavior and a decrease in feminine gender-typed behavior. ANOVA revealed that fathers scored significantly lower on emotional intelligence than mothers and students. Significant correlations on emotional intelligence for mothers and their respective students indicated a strong influence on this construct; no such relationship was found between students and fathers. The strongest correlations in masculine and feminine personality and behavior were obtained for mothers and daughters. It was also hypothesized that androgyny would predict higher emotional intelligence; multiple regression supported this hypothesis for students, mothers, and fathers.

A Study of Cynicism, Personality, and Work Values

ABSTRACT Kanter and Mirvis (1989) reported that 43% of Americans are cynical and that confidence in business and leadership has fallen from approximately 76% in the late 1960s to about 15% today. The purpose of the present study was to investigate interrelationships among cynicism, depersonalization, estrangement, work values, and basic personality traits. College students (N = 106) completed the 16PF (Cattell, Eber, & Tatsuoka, 1970), Gordons (1978) Personal Profile-Inventory, Coopersmiths (1967) Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI), and a Life Attitudes Questionnaire containing the Kanter and Mirvis cynicism scales, four measures of work values (Buchholz, 1977), and some new items. Cynical students believed that workers are exploited and alienated from productive activity (Marxist exploitive belief system, r = .40; Buchholz). Unexpectedly, cynicism was positively correlated with the Buchholz Protestant Work Ethic Scale (r = .44), negatively correlated with selfesteem (r = −.39), and not correlated with the bas...

Nonlinear dynamics in psychology

This article provides a survey of the applications of nonlinear dynamical systems theory to substantive problems encountered in the full scope of psychological science. Applications are organized into three topical areas cognitive science, social and organizational psychology, and personality and clinical psychology. Both theoretical and empirical studies are considered with an emphasis on works that capture the broadest scope of issues that are of substantive interest to psychological theory. A budding literature on the implications of NDS principles in professional practice is reported also.

Nonlinear Dynamics of Motivational Flow

Motivational flow is the experience of intrinsic motivation, which is in turn the result of the levels of challenge and skill involvement for a particular task. The level of flow is predictive of the amount of time a person will spend in that task, and it is thought to form a basis for an individuals time allocation between occupational and leisure activities. In this study, 28 university students, many of whom were employed, completed a 7-day log of their daily activities, their duration, and provided ratings of the level of skills and challenges inherent in the task. The logs provided a time series of several hundred points for each participant, which were each subjected to nonlinear dynamical analysis through nonlinear regression. Principal results were: (1) Flow was chaotic for all subjects. (2) The average R2for the nonlinear models was .22, compared to .02 for the linear counterpart. (3) R2was higher for people who spent more time at paying jobs. Evidence for individual differences in dynamical character were uncovered.