Psychological momentum and risky decision-making

The relationship between performance appraisal interval and employees' proactive working behavior - analysis based on time-gain effect and time-loss effect

Introduction

Performance appraisal is the most widely motivation means for employees' initiative and work improvement. As a large number of organizations are moving from traditional annual performance appraisal to more frequent appraisals, there is little research to compare the motivational effect of different performance appraisal intervals.

Methods

We explore the relationship between performance appraisal interval (PAI) and positive work behavior (PWB) as well as how to improve the relationship between them. Drawing from the psychological momentum (PM) theory, we constructed a model of the dual effect (the time-gain effect and time-loss effect) of PAI on PWB as well as their boundary conditions.

Results

A cross-level analysis of 622 employees in 57 teams indicated that: (1) PAI exerted a positive but marginal decreasing effect on delay of gratification (DG), and then increase PWB indirectly (i.e., the time-gain effect). (2) PAI exerted a positive and marginal increasing effect on perceived uncertainty (PU), and then decrease PWB indirectly (i.e., the time-loss effect). (3) According to the additive principle of the benefit and cost proposed by Hanns et al (2016), the addition of the time-gain effect and time-loss effect leads to an inverted U-shape effect of PAI on PWB. (4) Supervisor developmental feedback (SDF) moderated the inverted U-shape effect of PAI on PWB.

Discussion

This research enriches the application of PM theory in performance appraisal research, advances employee proactivity research from a perspective of organizations' time mechanisms, and also provides a theoretical basis for leaders to adopt developmental feedback as an optimization strategy.

A cross-lagged panel analysis of second language achievement and enjoyment

Although self-perceived language proficiency has recently been found to influence foreign language enjoyment (FLE), rigorous assessment of the causal relationship between actual second language (L2) achievement and FLE has received relatively little attention. Based on control-value theory, this longitudinal study examined the causal antecedents of the relationship between the L2 achievement of 206 FL learners and their FLE from the perspective of dynamic systems theory and conducted a cross-lagged panel (CLP) analysis using Mplus 8.3 software. Both variables were measured two times over one academic year (10 months) in an English as a foreign language (EFL) course. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed significant changes in both variables over time. According to the CLP path model, L2 achievement at Time 1 (T1) appeared to affect subsequent FLE, while FLE at T1 failed to predict L2 achievement at Time 2 (T2). This study provides empirical evidence of the directional effect of L2 achievement on FLE regarding the hypothesized reciprocal effect of the two. Implications for stakeholders in the field of education are discussed.

Gaining or Losing Team Ball Possession: The Dynamics of Momentum Perception and Strategic Choice in Football Coaches

Grounded in the dynamical systems approach, the present research examined the influence of team ball possession (TBP) in soccer on coaches’ perceived psychological momentum (PM) and strategic choice (i.e., game-based “stick” vs. “switch” choices) during a simulated match. Experienced soccer coaches imagined being the coach of the team involved in a highly important match that was displayed on a wall in a lecture hall. The match scenario was manipulated so that the coach was exposed to either a positive momentum sequence (i.e., ascending scenario of TBP) or a negative momentum sequence (i.e., descending scenario of TBP). Results revealed that positive (or negative) momentum sequence increased (or decreased) perceived PM and increased stick (or switch) choices. Perceived PM globally evolved linearly, while strategic choice displayed a dynamical pattern of “critical boundary” (thus showing a nonlinear change). Nonetheless, both variables displayed asymmetrical effects, in the sense that: (1) the strength of positive PM appeared to be easier to decrease than to increase; and (2) the greater the positive PM (or the negative PM), the lesser (or the greater) the coaches’ tendency to make a change in the organization of their teams. This investigation evidences that TBP can powerfully influence coaches’ perceptions and strategic decisions, and that coaches are more likely to be sensitive to negative events than to equivalent positive events.