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1. A study of organizational cynicism and how it is affected by social exchange relationships at work

   https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12306  

   Pfrombeck, Julian ; Doden, Wiebke ; Grote, Gudela ; Feierabend, Anja ( February 2020 , Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology)

   Drawing on the social exchange theory, organizational cynicism has been suggested as a central consequence of psychological contract (PC) breach. In this study, we examine the extent to which social exchange relationships with the supervisor and coworkers have an impact on cynical reactions to broken employer promises. Based on two‐wave data with a time lag of three months from a sample of 781 employees, we investigated the influence of employees’ perceived PC breach on cynical thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, and the moderating effects of leader–member exchange (LMX) and coworker exchange (CWX). Using structural equation modelling, we found that PC breach was positively associated with cognitive, affective, and behavioural cynicism. Our analysis further revealed that LMX and CWX moderated different dimensions of organizational cynicism: When LMX was high, employees reacted more sensitively to a PC breach with cognitive and behavioural cynicism. In contrast, CWX attenuated employees’ affective cynical response to a PC breach. The differentiated perspective on cognitive, affective, and behavioural cynicism and the identified moderating effects help explain varying strengths of the PC breach–organizational cynicism association found in previous research and highlight contingencies related to social exchange relationships at work.

   This study shows that cynicism towards the organization varies with the extent of perceived PC breach, indicating that organizations should actively manage employees’ psychological contracts.

   LMX tends to reduce cynicism towards the organization (direct effect), but high LMX employees seem to react more sensitively to severe PC breaches (interaction effect). Thus, high LMX cannot completely compensate employees’ cynical reaction to a PC breach. Leaders should be made aware of that and should be trained to effectively manage employees’ expectations to prevent PC breaches.

   Employees’ cynical emotional reaction to severe PC breaches was buffered by high levels of CWX. Hence, organizations should foster interpersonal relationships among coworkers.

    

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2. Ongoing Remote Work, Returning to Working at Work, or in between during COVID-19: What Promotes Subjective Well-Being?

   https://doi.org/10.1177/00221465221150283  

   Fan, Wen ; Moen, Phyllis ( January 2023 , Journal of Health and Social Behavior)

   The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated a massive turn to remote work, followed by subsequent shifts for many into hybrid or fully returning to the office. To understand the patterned dynamics of subjective well-being associated with shifting places of work, we conducted a nationally representative panel survey (October 2020 and April 2021) of U.S. employees who worked remotely at some point since the pandemic (N = 1,817). Cluster analysis identified four patterned constellations of well-being based on burnout, work–life conflict, and job and life satisfaction. A total return to office is generally more stressful, leading to significantly lower probabilities of being in the optimal low stress/high satisfaction constellation by Wave 2, especially for men and women without care obligations. Remote and hybrid arrangements have salutary effects; moving to hybrid is especially positive for minority men and less educated men, although it disadvantages White women’s well-being.

    

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3. Territory Quality Predicts Avian Vocal Performance Across an Urban-Rural Gradient

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.587120  

   Phillips, Jennifer N. ; Cooper, W. Justin ; Luther, David A. ; Derryberry, Elizabeth P. ( December 2020 , Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution)

   Human activity around the globe is a growing source of selection pressure on animal behavior and communication systems. Some animals can modify their vocalizations to avoid masking from anthropogenic noise. However, such modifications can also affect the salience of these vocalizations in functional contexts such as competition and mate choice. Such is the case in the well-studied Nuttall's white-crowned sparrow ( Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli ), which lives year-round in both urban San Francisco and nearby rural Point Reyes. A performance feature of this species' song is salient in territorial defense, such that higher performance songs elicit stronger responses in simulated territorial intrusions; but songs with lower performance values transmit better in anthropogenic noise. A key question then is whether vocal performance signals male quality and ability to obtain high quality territories in urban populations. We predicted white-crowned sparrows with higher vocal performance will be in better condition and will tend to hold territories with lower noise levels and more species-preferred landscape features. Because white-crowned sparrows are adapted to coastal scrub habitats, we expect high quality territories to contain lower and less dense canopies, less drought, more greenness, and more flat open ground for foraging. To test our predictions, we recorded songs and measured vocal performance and body condition (scaled mass index and fat score) for a set of urban and rural birds ( N = 93), as well as ambient noise levels on their territories. Remote sensing metrics measured landscape features of territories, such as drought stress (NDWI), greenness (NDVI), mean canopy height, maximum height, leaf area density (understory and canopy), slope, and percent bare ground for a 50 m radius on each male territory. We did not find a correlation between body condition and performance but did find a relationship between noise levels and performance. Further, high performers held territories with lower canopies and less dense vegetation, which are species-preferred landscape features. These findings link together fundamental aspects of sexual selection in that habitat quality and the quality of sexually selected signals appear to be associated: males that have the highest performing songs are defending territories of the highest quality. 

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4. Utilizing the commodity purchase task to evaluate behavioral economic demand for illicit substances: a review and meta‐analysis

   https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14792  

   Strickland, Justin C. ; Campbell, Ethan M. ; Lile, Joshua A. ; Stoops, William W. ( October 2019 , Addiction)

   The commodity purchase task is a simulated demand procedure that is easy and quick to complete (< 5 minutes) as well as adaptable for remote delivery and use with varied study populations. The purpose of this meta‐analysis was to synthesize research using the commodity purchase task with illicit substances to evaluate the magnitude of omnibus effects sizes and moderators of the correlation of demand indices with quantity–frequency (QF) and severity measures.

   Random‐effects meta‐analyses and meta‐regressions involving studies with cross‐sectional correlational designs.

   Eleven studies, 10 outcomes and 2146 participants from two countries (USA and UK) published up to 1 October 2018.

   Omnibus effect sizes (correlation coefficients) of five demand indices from the commodity purchase task [intensity (unconstrained consumption), elasticity (price sensitivity), O_max(maximum expenditure), P_max(price at maximum expenditure) and breakpoint (first price of zero consumption)] with QF and severity measures. Meta‐regression models tested moderators of effect sizes (i.e. sample age and sex composition, commodity type and number of prices used in the commodity purchase task).

   Significant omnibus effect sizes were observed with QF and severity measures for intensity (r = 0.32/0.28, QF/severity, respectively), elasticity (r = −0.14/−0.18), O_max(r = 0.30/0.29) and breakpoint (r = 0.17/0.22) values. P_maxwas only significantly associated with severity measures (r = 0.15). The percentage of female participants and number of prices used in the purchase task significantly moderated P_maxand breakpoint effect‐size estimates in that stronger associations were observed in samples with a greater percentage of women and in studies using tasks with more price points. Commodity type (cannabis versus cocaine) did not significantly moderate associations involving any demand index.

   Behavioral economic demand as measured by the commodity purchase task is consistently correlated with measures of illicit substance use quantity–frequency and severity.

    

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5. Academic Success and Retention of Underprepared Students

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--36635  

   Hensel, Robin A. ; Dygert, Joseph ; Morris, Melissa Lynn ( July 2021 , 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   The Academy of Engineering Success (AcES) program, established in 2012 and supported by NSF S-STEM award number 1644119 throughout 2016-2021, employs literature-based, best practices to support and retain underprepared and underrepresented students in engineering through graduation with the ultimate goal of diversifying the engineering workforce. A total of 71 students, including 21 students supported by S-STEM scholarships, participated in the AcES program between 2016-2019 at a large R1 institution in the mid-Atlantic region. All AcES students participate in a common program during their first year, comprised of: a one-week summer bridge experience, a common fall professional development course and spring “Engineering in History” course, and a common academic advisor. These students also have opportunities for: (1) faculty-student, student-student, and industry mentor-student interaction, (2) academic support and student success education, and (3) major and career exploration – all designed to help students develop feelings of institutional inclusion, engineering self-efficacy and identity, and academic and professional success skills. They also participate in the GRIT, Longitudinal Assessment of Engineering Self-Efficacy (LAESE), and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) surveys plus individual and focus group interviews at the start, midpoint, and end of each fall semester and at the end of the spring semester. The surveys provide a measure of students’ GRIT, their beliefs related to the intrinsic value of engineering and learning, their feelings of inclusion and test anxiety, and their self-efficacy related to engineering, math, and coping skills. The interviews provide information related to the student experience, feelings of inclusion, and program impact. Institutional data, combined with the survey and interview responses, are used to examine four research questions designed to examine the relationship of the elements of the AcES program to participants’ academic success and retention in engineering. Early analyses of the student retention data and survey responses from the 2017 and 2018 cohorts indicated students who ultimately left engineering before the start of their second year initially scored higher in areas of engineering self-efficacy and test anxiety, than those who stayed in engineering, while those who retained to the second year began their engineering education with lower self-efficacy scores, but higher scores related to the belief in the intrinsic value of engineering, learning strategy use, and coping self-efficacy. These results suggest that students who start with unrealistically high expectations of their performance leave engineering at higher rates than students who start with lower personal performance expectations, but have stronger value of the field and strategies for meeting challenges. These data appear to support the Kruger-Dunning effect in which students with limited knowledge of a specific field overestimate their abilities to perform in that area or underestimate the level of effort success may require. This paper will add an analysis of the academic success and retention data from 2019 cohort to this research, discuss the impact of COVID-19 to this program and research, as well as illuminate the quantitative results with the qualitative data from individual and focus group interviews regarding the aspects of the AcES program that impact student success, their expectations and methods for overcoming academic challenges, and their feelings of motivation and inclusion. 

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