New developments in social interdependence theory

Neural mechanisms distinguishing two types of cooperative problem-solving approaches: An fNIRS hyperscanning study

Collaborative cooperation (CC) and division of labor cooperation (DLC) are two prevalent forms of cooperative problem-solving approaches in daily life. Despite extensive research on the neural mechanisms underlying cooperative problem-solving approaches, a notable gap exists between the neural processes that support CC and DLC. The present study utilized a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning technique along with a classic cooperative tangram puzzle task to investigate the neural mechanisms engaged by both friends and stranger dyads during CC versus DLC. The key findings of this study were as follows: (1) Dyads exhibited superior behavioral performance in the DLC task than in the CC task. The CC task bolstered intra-brain functional connectivity and inter-brain synchrony (IBS) in regions linked to the mirror neuron system (MNS), spatial perception (SP) and cognitive control. (2) Friend dyads showed stronger IBS in brain regions associated with the MNS than stranger dyads. (3) Perspective-taking predicted not only dyads' behavioral performance in the CC task but also their IBS in brain regions associated with SP during the DLC task. Taken together, these findings elucidate the divergent behavioral performance and neural connection patterns between the two cooperative problem-solving approaches. This study provides novel insights into the various neurocognitive processes underlying flexible coordination strategies in real-world cooperative contexts.

Universal School-Based Substance Use Prevention Using Technology-Supported Cooperative Learning

Substance use in adolescence is a significant public health issue, particularly in early-to-mid adolescence, which represents a window of risk in the etiology of substance abuse and dependence. Substance use during this development period often results from affiliation with deviant peers, who model, facilitate, and reinforce use. Existing school-based substance use prevention programs have historically aimed to build adolescent knowledge regarding the dangers of substance use and/or enhance peer refusal skills. Research finds that these programs have had some success in reducing substance use, but meta-analyses report that average effect sizes are small. In a small one-year cluster randomized trial (12 middle and high schools; N = 813 students; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04478240), cooperative learning (CL) was implemented with the support of specialized technology and evaluated for its ability to reduce deviant peer affiliation and, in turn, reduce substance use. CL is a structured approach to small-group learning that provides at-risk youth with the opportunity to build friendships with more prosocial youth, interrupting the process of deviant peer clustering. Multi-level modeling revealed intervention effects for deviant peer affiliation and alcohol use across the sample, while tobacco use was significantly reduced among non-White students; intervention effects for marijuana use were only marginally significant. Effects for dosage were found for all outcomes, suggesting that every lesson taught had a significant impact. We conclude that CL, delivered with the aid of specialized technology, represents a viable option for universal substance use prevention. Future research should attempt to combine this approach with evidence-based prevention curricula.

Ready or Not: A Crossover Study of (Un)graded Individual Readiness Assurance Tests in Team-Based Learning

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to measure the effects of graded vs ungraded individual readiness assurance tests (iRATs) on the students' test scores and achievement goals in a team-based learning classroom.

METHODS

A 2 × 2 crossover study was conducted in a required second-year pharmacotherapy course. Teams 1 to 8 were assigned to a UG iRAT during the first half of the course, followed by a G iRAT the second half of the course (G/UG group). Teams 9 to 16 were assigned to the opposite grading sequence (ie, UG/G). A multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze the differences in test scores, as measured using iRAT and examination scores. A separate multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine the differences in achievement goals.

RESULTS

There was a significant difference in test scores based on the iRAT grading condition. Individual readiness assurance tests were higher in the G condition (72.51% vs 67.99%); however, the examination scores were similar in the G and UG conditions (81.07% vs 80.32%). There was no statistically significant difference in the achievement goals based on the iRAT grading condition.

CONCLUSION

In a required second-year pharmacotherapy course that uses team-based learning, student performance on the iRAT was modestly lower in the UG iRAT condition; however, the students' examination scores were unchanged. Achievement goals were unchanged based on the iRAT grading condition.

The effect of competition on children's merit-based resource allocation: The difference between interpersonal and intergroup competition

Competition usually exists in groups in everyday interactions, but how children allocate according to competition outcomes (e.g., merit-based allocation) after intergroup competition and the difference in children's allocations of rewards between interpersonal and intergroup competition remain unclear. Children aged 3-8 years were asked to complete interpersonal or intergroup competitive games and were further asked to allocate rewards between themselves and their partners (Study 1) or between their group and the other group (Studies 2 and 3) and to reason about their decisions. We found that after interpersonal competition, children tended to conduct merit-based allocations when they won but were more inclined to conduct equal allocations when they lost; after intergroup competition, children were more inclined to make equal allocations regardless of whether they won or lost, only less than half of children followed meritorious principles. However, children conducted more merit-based allocations with age after both interpersonal and intergroup competitions. In addition, children showed less bias towards their own side after intergroup competition than after interpersonal competition. Finally, they demonstrated an earlier proclivity towards being influenced by winning outcomes than by losing outcomes after interpersonal competition, whereas a converse tendency was found after intergroup competition.

Jigsaw Classroom: Perceptions of Students and Teachers

Background

Various innovative teaching methods have been designed in an attempt to provide millennial students an interactive and stimulating learning environment. A jigsaw method is one such form of cooperative learning that enables students to develop critical-thinking and ability for effective communication and promotes positive student attitudes toward their own learning. The present study was thus undertaken to introduce a jigsaw-based cooperative learning method and to understand the perception of the students and faculty.

Methodology

This was a cross-sectional study conducted among second year MBBS students. Students were randomly divided into 10 parent groups, with 10 students each. The topic was divided into 10 subtopics. Each student in the parent group was allotted a sub-topic. The students who were given the same sub-topic assembled to form an expert group. They interacted and discussed the subtopic. Students finally returned to their parent groups for peer teaching and presentation. A validated questionnaire was used to gather students and faculty feedback. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze responses to the Likert scale questions. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

The present study included 95 s year MBBS students. Majority (81%) students agreed that this teaching learning method enhanced their communication skills. Seventy-five percent of the students agreed that the activity helped in overcoming shyness and hesitation in the class. Overall the faculty also agreed that the jigsaw method was helpful for the students.

Conclusions

Cooperative learning like jigsaw facilitates learning allowing student-student discussion, improving communication and teaching skills.

Access-based customer journeys

Despite the popularity of access-based platforms, the understanding of customer journeys remains anchored in traditional market contexts that overlook prosumers' extended value-chain roles, interconnected experiences, and instrumental sociality in access-based consumption. Using a qualitative study on the access-based platform Rent the Runway, the authors discuss the nature of customer journeys in access-based platforms and showcase how customers perform these journeys. The study reveals two key elements: (1) systemic dynamics, which encompass just-in-time circularity and tightly coupled customer interdependencies, and (2) job crafting, which involves customer work practices that allow pain point avoidance, circulation flow adjustments, and journey stickiness increases. Job crafting can create unpredictable disruptions in other customer journeys and affect systemic flows. This investigation expands research on customer experience management and journey design by developing an access-based platform journey model differentiated from ownership- and service-based platform models, showcasing its systemic instability dynamics, and elaborating how to manage these customer journeys.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11747-023-00942-6.

Team Cohesion in Individual/Team Sports Athletes: Transformational Leadership and the Role of Social norms

Team cohesion is a critical factor in sports, yet few studies have comparatively analyzed individual and team sport athletes in sporting situations. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between transformational leadership, social norms, and team cohesion, and to analyze the moderating effects of individual/team sports athletes. In 2022, a total of 196 baseball, judo, soccer, taekwondo, and hockey players registered with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee completed a questionnaire using transformational leadership, social norms, and team cohesion scales. Transformational leadership had a significant positive effect on social norms and team cohesion. Social norms had a significant positive effect on team cohesion. Transformational leadership and the interaction of individual/team sports athletes had a significant effect on team cohesion. At this time, individual sports athletes appeared to have somewhat higher team cohesion. This study sheds light on the social norms and team cohesion of athletes from a social moral perspective based on transformational leadership theory. It can also help young athletes who are just starting out to learn the culture and sociology of sports.

Influences of (in)congruences in psychological entitlement and felt obligation on ethical behavior

Introduction

Psychological entitlement and felt obligation are two correlated but distinctive conceptions. Prior studies have mainly explored their influences on employees' (un)ethical behavior, respectively. Recently, several studies suggest the interactive impacts of psychological entitlement with felt obligation on individual behavioral choices. In consistency with these studies, the present study focuses on the influences of (in)congruences in psychological entitlement and felt obligation on employees' (un)ethical behavior.

Methods

A two-wave multi-source questionnaire survey is conducted to collect 202 matched questionnaires from full-time Chinese workers. The polynomial regression with response surface analysis is employed to test hypotheses.

Results

The results indicate that: (1) employees have higher levels of work engagement and helping behavior but lower levels of unethical behavior when their psychological entitlement and felt obligation are balanced at higher levels rather than lower levels; (2) employees have higher levels of work engagement and helping behavior but lower levels of unethical behavior when they have higher levels of felt obligation but lower levels of psychological entitlement compared to those having lower levels of felt obligation but higher levels of psychological entitlement; and (3) work engagement mediates the relationship between (in)congruences in psychological entitlement and felt obligation and employees' helping behavior and unethical behavior.

Discussion

This study provides a novel insight into the interactive influences of (in)congruence in psychological entitlement and felt obligation on employees' ethical behavioral choices.

Costs and benefits of cooperative learning as a universal school-based approach to adolescent substance use prevention

Substance use during early adolescence implies a greater likelihood of abuse and dependence in later adolescence or adulthood. In turn, substance abuse and dependence are linked to a variety of maladaptive long-term health-related outcomes that imply significant individual and societal costs. In this paper, we evaluated an approach to substance use prevention that relies on the vital role of peers, who comprise a key risk factor for adolescent substance use. This approach (i.e., cooperative learning, CL) focuses on interrupting the process of deviant peer clustering and providing at-risk youth with the opportunity to build social skills and cultivate friendships with low-risk youth. In addition to testing the efficacy of CL in reducing the number of students who become regular substance users, we also conducted a cost-benefit analysis. Using four waves of data from a cluster-randomized trial (N = 15 middle schools, 1890 students, 47.1% female, 75.2% White, 13.9% of students were receiving special education services), we found that significantly lower percentages of students in the intervention (CL) schools became regular users of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. We estimated that the reduction in substance use associated with the implementation of CL resulted in total lifetime benefits of between $1027 and $4621 per student (in 2019 dollars), or between $8.79 and $39.54 for each dollar invested in CL. Benefit/cost ratios would go up to $22.54-$101.39 per dollar invested with the continual implementation of CL, assuming retraining every 5 years. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

The effect of faultline and incentive schemes on knowledge-sharing behaviour

Purpose

This study aims to examine the effect of faultline based on job responsibility and their interaction with the incentive scheme on knowledge-sharing behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is an experimental study with a 2 × 2 factorial design between subjects. Faultline and incentive schemes are manipulated into two groups (strong faultline–weak faultline and group incentive–individual incentives). This study involved 89 undergraduate accounting students as participants.

Findings

This research shows that a strong faultline created a strong social identity effect. Hence, the knowledge-sharing behavior among group members tends to be lower than the weak faultline. Knowledge-sharing behavior tends to be higher in group incentive schemes than individual ones. However, there is no support for interactions between incentive schemes and faultline effects on knowledge-sharing behavior. The results indicate that forming a working subgroup based on informational characteristics attributes reduces cooperative behavior and knowledge sharing between groups.

Originality/value

This study adds a new addition to faultline literature by examining the effect of faultline and incentive schemes on knowledge-sharing behavior based on informational characteristics attributes. Previous research on faultline and knowledge sharing was limited and primarily focused on faultlines created by demographic attributes. This study also enriches faultline literature on knowledge-sharing behavior using an experimental design.

The chronology of collective cheating: a qualitative study of collective dishonesty in academic contexts

Collective cheating can have serious consequences in professional and educational settings. Existing data show that collective cheating is common and that individuals cheat more when they are in groups, highlighting the existence of some collective organisation in the endeavour. However, little is known about the emergence of this behaviour and the group processing involved. Drawing on qualitative data from 20 semi-structured interviews and a thematic analysis, the present study explored collective cheating in academic contexts. Seven themes emerged that retrace the chronology of collective cheating from its beginning to its impact on the group: reasons, birth and organisation of collective cheating, risk management, concealment strategies, justifications and social impact. Participants emphasised the extrinsic benefits, the interdependence of members and the importance of existing social norms, as well as the positive valence of this kind of dishonesty. In participants' recalls, cheating together means cooperating, showing solidarity, helping and supporting each other.

The influence of team cultural value orientations on norms of conduct in hybrid teams: Implications for team cohesion and performance

We advance team composition research by adopting a team-norms perspective to examine the effects of team members’ cultural value orientations—collectivism and uncertainty avoidance orientation—on team functioning and performance in hybrid teams (i.e., teams combining face-to-face and mediated communication). Using data collected at three points in time from a sample of self-managing project teams, results support our proposed theoretical model. Team members’ mean level of collectivism and uncertainty avoidance both positively relate to norms of conduct in a team. In addition, team norms indirectly influence team performance through cohesion when team virtuality and team task knowledge are both high, with team virtuality moderating the team norms–cohesion relationship, and team task knowledge moderating the team cohesion–performance relationship. Our findings suggest that characteristics of contemporary teams—team cultural value orientation and team virtuality—have important implications for how norms for acceptable conduct develop and their consequences for team performance.

Career Capital and Well-Being: A Configurational Perspective

This study explored the configuration effect of human capital, social capital, and psychological capital on employee well-being. A total of 458 employees were investigated via a human capital scale, social capital scale, Chinese psychological capital scale, and multiple well-being questionnaire. The result of the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis showed that human capital, social capital, and psychological capital in the form of diversified configuration will achieve high well-being, characterized by "all roads lead to Rome". Even without human capital and social capital, high well-being can be achieved as long as psychological capital exists. Psychological capital is the most critical factor affecting subjective well-being, followed by human capital and social capital. Compared with guanxi-oriented psychological capital, task-oriented psychological capital is a more critical factor in achieving high well-being.

The effect of distributive justice climate on virtual team performance: A moderated mediation model

Based on the social interdependence theory, we proposed that the distributive justice climate affects virtual team performance via high-quality relationships, and then we investigated the boundary effect of team proactive personality. The data used in this study were collected in China, including 327 virtual team members that belonged to 75 teams. The following results are obtained: (1) Distributive justice climate and high-quality relationships have significant positive effects on virtual team performance. (2) High-quality relationships mediate the relationship between the distributive justice climate and virtual team performance. (3) Team proactive personality strengthens the direct effect of the distributive justice climate on high-quality relationships. (4) Team proactive personality strengthens the indirect effect of the distributive justice climate on virtual team performance through high-quality relationships. These empirical results have important theoretical significance for team climate construction, personnel selection, and team performance promotion.

Leader humility and team creativity: The role of team creative efficacy and task interdependence

Although research on leader humility is developing into a prominent literature, the majority of studies have focused on the dyadic or individual rather than collective outcomes of leader humility. Thus, our understanding of the influencing mechanisms and boundary conditions of leader humility remains limited, particularly on the collective work outcome of team creativity, which requires more voluntary effort from employees. Drawing on social cognitive theory and social interdependence theory, our study investigates how leader humility promotes team creativity through team creative efficacy, with the moderation of a contextual factor, task interdependence. We used a sample of 84 teams and 393 employees surveyed in two waves of data collection. Overall, our study yields a mediated moderation model in which the positive indirect effect of leader humility via team creative efficacy on team creativity is stronger when team task interdependence is low rather than high. This study extends our understanding of how leader humility may influence work teams collectively and how the effectiveness of such a leader characteristic may be influenced by a structural factor of the work team. Other theoretical contributions and practical implications are also discussed.

Co-Development of Adolescents' Cooperative and Competitive Attitudes: How it Predicts Mental Health and Academic Achievement

This study used nationally representative longitudinal data in South Korea to examine how joint changes in adolescents' (N = 7324; M_age  ≈ 11 years) cooperative and competitive attitudes from sixth to ninth grade relate to mental health and achievement in 10th grade. The parallel process model showed that both cooperative and competitive attitudes declined over time. Higher cooperative attitudes at baseline indicated higher competitive attitudes, and a faster decline in cooperative attitudes indicated a faster decline in competitive attitudes. The intercept of cooperative attitudes was positively related to mental health but negatively related to achievement. Opposite patterns were found for the intercept of competitive attitudes. These findings highlight the usefulness of considering the co-development of cooperative and competitive attitudes.

Understanding how and why quality circles improve standards of practice, enhance professional development and increase psychological well-being of general practitioners: a realist synthesis

OBJECTIVES

To understand how and why participation in quality circles (QCs) improves general practitioners' (GPs) psychological well-being and the quality of their clinical practice. To provide evidence-informed and practical guidance to maintain QCs at local and policy levels.

DESIGN

A theory-driven mixed method.

SETTING

Primary healthcare.

METHOD

We collected data in four stages to develop and refine the programme theory of QCs: (1) coinquiry with Swiss and European expert stakeholders to develop a preliminary programme theory; (2) realist review with systematic searches in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and CINHAL (1980-2020) to inform the preliminary programme theory; (3) programme refinement through interviews with participants, facilitators, tutors and managers of QCs and (4) consolidation of theory through interviews with QC experts across Europe and examining existing theories.

SOURCES OF DATA

The coinquiry comprised 4 interviews and 3 focus groups with 50 European experts. From the literature search, we included 108 papers to develop the literature-based programme theory. In stage 3, we used data from 40 participants gathered in 6 interviews and 2 focus groups to refine the programme theory. In stage 4, five interviewees from different healthcare systems consolidated our programme theory.

RESULT

Requirements for successful QCs are governmental trust in GPs' abilities to deliver quality improvement, training, access to educational material and performance data, protected time and financial resources. Group dynamics strongly influence success; facilitators should ensure participants exchange knowledge and generate new concepts in a safe environment. Peer interaction promotes professional development and psychological well-being. With repetition, participants gain confidence to put their new concepts into practice.

CONCLUSION

With expert facilitation, clinical review and practice opportunities, QCs can improve the quality of standard practice, enhance professional development and increase psychological well-being in the context of adequate professional and administrative support.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42013004826.

Motivations to share knowledge in professional service teams: the moderating role of project stage

Purpose

This study aims to examine the effects of three-perspective motivations including task interdependence, normative conformity, affective bonding on team knowledge sharing (KS) and the moderating effects of project stage on the proposed model paths.

Design/methodology/approach

The quantitative method was applied through surveying senior auditors representing 263 audit teams in Vietnam.

Findings

Findings show that task interdependence has salient effect on team KS. Normative conformity and affective bonding become more important when projects move to later stages where knowledge shared is more tacit and the team involves more social interactions.

Research limitations/implications

This study puts forth the limitations related to the study scope of financial statement auditing teams that may influence the generalization.

Practical implications

This study recommends auditing managers to be aware of diverse motivations for team KS and their increasingly important role in specific project stages.

Originality/value

The novelty of the research is to integrate three knowledge-sharing motivations based on economics, social and psychological perspectives and to affirm the dynamic nature of KS within team projects.

Effects of Cooperation and Competition on Performance, Emotion, and Effort: Goal and Means Interdependence

Social interdependence theory proposes that task structure influences performance via social interaction. Using this framework, we examined sport performance. Fifty-six males performed a basketball task under four conditions: as an individual (individual, perform your best) and as a member of a team of two (cooperation, where teammates sought to better their individual performance; means independent competition, where two teams competed sequentially to outperform the other team; means interdependent competition, where two teams competed simultaneously to outperform the other team). Task performance (points) was better during means independent competition than other conditions. Anxiety and effort peaked during the competitions and enjoyment was greater during competition and cooperation than during the individual condition. Emotions, effort, and actions are discussed as explanations for the performance effects. Social interdependence theory provides a valuable framework to understand emotion, motivation, and performance. Team competition can be used to promote effort and enhance performance in sport.

The Impact of Cooperative Learning on University Students' Academic Goals

Cooperative learning encourages the development of interpersonal skills and motivates students to participate more actively in the teaching and learning process. This study explores the impact of cooperative learning on the academic goals influencing university students' behavior and leading to the attainment of a series of academic objectives. To this end, a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design was used, with a sample of 509 university students from Preschool, Primary and Social Education undergraduate degree courses. Using the Academic Goals Questionnaire (AGQ), pretest and posttest measures were taken via self-reports to evaluate three types of academic goals: learning goals, social reinforcement goals and achievement goals. The results show that cooperative learning is an effective tool for encouraging university students to develop academic goals that motivate them to fully engage with the tasks they are set in order to acquire knowledge and skills (learning goals). In addition, when students are asked to work as part of a team on an autonomous basis without the structure and supervision necessary to ensure a minimum standard of cooperation, they display a greater tendency toward social reinforcement goals than toward learning and achievement goals. These findings contribute new knowledge to the conceptual framework on cooperative learning. Goals may be considered one of the most important variables influencing students' learning and the use of cooperative learning techniques in university classrooms creates the necessary conditions for encouraging students to develop goals oriented toward learning.

Agency and Identity in the Collective Self

Contemporary research on human sociality is heavily influenced by the social identity approach, positioning social categorization as the primary mechanism governing social life. Building on the distinction between agency and identity in the individual self ("I" vs. "Me"), we emphasize the analogous importance of distinguishing collective agency from collective identity ("We" vs. "Us"). While collective identity is anchored in the unique characteristics of group members, collective agency involves the adoption of a shared subjectivity that is directed toward some object of our attention, desire, emotion, belief, or action. These distinct components of the collective self are differentiated in terms of their mental representations, neurocognitive underpinnings, conditions of emergence, mechanisms of social convergence, and functional consequences. Overall, we show that collective agency provides a useful complement to the social categorization approach, with unique implications for multiple domains of human social life, including collective action, responsibility, dignity, violence, dominance, ritual, and morality.

The Underlying neural mechanisms of interpersonal situations on collaborative ability: A hyperscanning study using functional near-infrared spectroscopy

The collaborative ability to coordinate an individual with others is critical to performance of joint actions. Prior studies found that different types of interpersonal situations have more or less impact on the collaborative ability of joint actions, but the results are controversial. To clarify the influence of interpersonal situations on collaborative ability, we adopted the joint Simon task, a choice-reaction task that two people perform together. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to study the neural mechanisms of interpersonal situations on collaborative ability and task performance under payoffs that fostered competition or cooperation. The fNIRS results showed that significant inter-brain neural synchronization (INS) occurred in the bilateral inferior parietal lobule (IPL) for both situations. Moreover, for the competition situation, the pairs also shown a significant INS in the right IPL. These results imply that the bilateral IPL is involved in cooperation and competition due to involvement of common concern and understanding of intention. The right IPL may be more crucial for competition because of the psychological resources involved in distinguishing self and others. Eventually, the INS in competition was better than in the other situations, correlating with higher performance of the joint task as well.

Influence of Group Identification on Malicious and Benign Envy: A Cross-Sectional Developmental Study

Envy is the result of a social comparison that shows us a negative image of ourselves. The present study addresses the effect of the context of group comparison and group identification on children's expression of this emotion. Through different stories, participants aged between 6 and 11 years were exposed to four contexts of upward social comparison in which they had to adopt the role of the disadvantaged character. From their emotional responses and their decisions in a resource allocation task, three response profiles were created: malicious envy, benign envy, and non-envy. Although we found important differences between verbal and behavioral responses, the results showed greater envy, both malicious and benign, when the envied was an out-group. On the other hand, when the envied belonged to the in-group and competed with a member of the out-group, malicious but not benign envy practically disappeared. With age, envious responses decreased, and non-envious responses increased. The role of social identity in the promotion and inhibition of envy is discussed, as well as the acquisition of emotional display rules in the benign envy and non-envy profiles.

Social groupwork for promoting psychological well-being of adolescents enrolled in sponsorship programs

Background: The dearth of data on adolescents highlighted in the UN's data disaggregation against the agenda 'no one left behind' calls for research on 'the second decade'. Moreover, India is a country with the world's largest adolescent population, and as such, studies and policies for developing competencies of adolescents are crucial to the country's development; interventions instilling confidence to aspire to a better future in underprivileged adolescents are vital to mitigate inequity. Methods: This intervention study adopted a quasi-experimental design to measure the effectiveness of social groupwork in raising the psychological well-being of adolescents in child sponsorship programs in Kerala. Forty adolescents from a Child Sponsorship Program (CSP) center in Kochi were recruited for the study. Those suggested by the CSP center considering their poor academic performance and behavior problems were allocated to the intervention group and the rest to the comparison group.  The intervention was designed in response to the information garnered through a preliminary study and administered to the intervention group (n=20). We conducted pre-test and post-test for both the intervention group and comparison group (n=20). Results: Comparison between pre- and post-measurements carried out using paired sample t-test for the intervention group and comparison group separately gave a p-value of <0.05 for the intervention group and >0.05 for the comparison group. Thus, it was proved that psychological well-being of participants in the intervention group was raised significantly due to the social group work intervention. Conclusions: Applying refined granularity, this research adds data specifically on adolescents enrolled in child sponsorship programs and sets a blueprint for social groupwork to improve their psychological well-being. Proposing a conceptual framework for child sponsorship programs, this study recommends further research in all aspects of its functioning, and interventions at group, family, and community levels, for the well-being and empowerment of marginalized adolescents.

The town of bent necks: interorganizational causes and consequences of relational rivalry

Purpose

This study aims at developing a conceptual framework for the networking behaviour of firms having relational and non-relational competitive interactions. Initially the question of how negative ties change the meaning of competition for the rival firms was discussed and then how these types of interactions can change possible networking preferences of organizations were theoretically estimated.

Design/methodology/approach

This study suggests that relational rivalry is closely linked with negative ties and even the emergence of strong positive ties among firms is viewed as a consequence of dyadic negative interactions. Different types of competitive conditions were classified under non-relational and relational categories.

Findings

Not applicable.

Originality/value

A majority of the studies on interorganizational networks are mostly concerned with positive tie formation patterns and the consequences of these interactions. However, there is limited number of macro-level studies, which realized explanatory potential of the negative interfirm relations. Negative interorganizational relations may also make significant contributions to the discipline of economic sociology.

The influence of cooperation and competition on preschoolers' prosociality toward in-group and out-group members

Past research suggests that children favour their in-group members over out-group members as indicated by selective prosociality such as sharing or social inclusion. This preregistered study examined how playing a cooperative, competitive or solitary game influences German 4- to 6-year-olds' in-group bias and their general willingness to act prosocially, independent of the recipient's group membership (N = 144). After playing the game, experimenters introduced minimal groups and assessed children's sharing with an in-group and an out-group member as well as their social inclusion of an out-group member into an in-group interaction. Furthermore, we assessed children's physical engagement and parents' social dominance orientation (SDO)-a scale indicating the preference for inequality among social groups-to learn more about inter-individual differences in children's prosocial behaviours. Results suggest that children showed a stronger physical engagement while playing competitively as compared with cooperatively or alone. The different gaming contexts did not impact children's subsequent in-group bias or general willingness to act prosocially. Parental SDO was not linked to children's prosocial behaviours. These results indicate that competition can immediately affect children's behaviour while playing but raise doubt on the importance of cooperative and competitive play for children's subsequent intergroup and prosocial behaviour.

Dual Effects of Partner’s Competence: Resource Interdependence in Cooperative Learning at Elementary School

A partner’s competence should logically favor cooperative learning. However, research in cooperative learning has shown that a partner’s competence may or may not activate a threatening social comparison and yields dual effects: It is beneficial when students work on complementary information while it is detrimental when students work on identical information. Two studies conducted at elementary school (study 1 with 24 fourth graders working on encyclopedic texts, and study 2 with 28 fifth graders working on argumentative texts) replicated that interaction: Information distribution (complementary vs. identical information) moderated the relationship between partner’s competence and pupils’ learning outcomes. The relation between partner’s competence and students’ performances was positive when working on complementary information, but negative when working on identical information. A third study confirmed that working on identical information led to a competitive social comparison whereas complementary information reinforced the pupils’ cooperation perception. Contributions to cooperative learning research are discussed in terms of the competitive comparisons that may arise during cooperative learning at elementary school.

Value distribution and markets for social justice in global value chains: Interdependence relationships and government policy

Global value chains are highly prone to distortions in value distribution among participants. Their global fragmentation and relational governance undermine the effectiveness of regulatory intervention in amending these distortions. In this paper, I propose a new mechanism to administer value distribution that is in tune with the nature of these production systems. Building on interdependence theory, I suggest that interdependencies inherent in the co-specialized nature of supply chains give participants the power to alter the trade-offs between investment in social causes and economic gains and to incentivize socially desired behavior. I show how the interdependence logic manifests at varying levels of the GVC, including the producing constituencies, governments, and international organizations, as well as civil society. These dynamics create markets for social justice that are driven by relationships among GVC participants and operate simultaneously at different scales. I further posit that the effectiveness of interdependence relationships as a value-distributing mechanism is socially-constructed and outline the social conditions that determine the outcomes. I specify the varying impact of governments on interdependence relationships – as activators, facilitators, or inhibitors of the transformative power of interdependencies – and discuss their effectiveness.

The structure of emotional support networks in families affected by Lynch syndrome

Genetic risk is particularly salient for families and testing for genetic conditions is necessarily a family-level process. Thus, risk for genetic disease represents a collective stressor shared by family members. According to communal coping theory, families may adapt to such risk vis-a-vis interpersonal exchange of support resources. We propose that communal coping is operationalized through the pattern of supportive relationships observed between family members. In this study, we take a social network perspective to map communal coping mechanisms to their underlying social interactions and include those who declined testing or were not at risk for Lynch Syndrome. Specifically, we examine the exchange of emotional support resources in families at risk of Lynch Syndrome, a dominantly inherited cancer susceptibility syndrome. Our results show that emotional support resources depend on the testing-status of individual family members and are not limited to the bounds of the family. Network members from within and outside the family system are an important coping resource in this patient population. This work illustrates how social network approaches can be used to test structural hypotheses related to communal coping within a broader system and identifies structural features that characterize coping processes in families affected by Lynch Syndrome.

A framework to understand the needs of the medical students of the future

Purpose: Medical education is undergoing curricular reform driven by internal needs and external pressures. Concurrently, medical students are changing. More diverse student bodies, particularly those from underrepresented minorities, bring different skill sets, needs and priorities to their medical school education. Here we present their voices.Methods: In order to explore the stories, needs and motivations of future physicians, we conducted a small-scale study of students from diverse backgrounds in US medical schools. Our interviews revealed two core themes about medical school: (1) that medical school is an extreme physical and emotional challenge for all students, and (2) that medical school education consists of multiple conflicting goals. Combining the two themes provides a descriptive topology of student's motivations and strategies for getting through medical school. Using this framework, we deconstruct the experience of medical school to reveal the gaps and misalignments between the traditional system of medical education and what medical students want, expect and need to be successful.Conclusions: We discuss the implications of our research and this framework for curricula and the learning environment with a particular focus on (1) cooperative learning and social interdependence theory and (2) an expanded understanding of diversity and the needs of under-represented students.

Mediators of Effects of Cooperative Learning on Prosocial Behavior in Middle School

In this study, we tested the effects of cooperative learning on students' prosocial behavior. Cooperative learning is a small-group instructional technique that establishes positive interdependence among students and, unlike most current school-based programs, does not mandate a formal curriculum. Given the emphasis in cooperative learning on peer reinforcement for positive and helpful behavior during learning activities, we hypothesized that cooperative learning would promote higher levels of prosocial behavior, and that these effects would be mediated by peer relatedness. Using a sample of 1,890 students (47.1% female, 75.2% White) from a cluster randomized trial of 15 middle schools, we found that cooperative learning significantly enhanced prosocial behavior across two years. Mediation was only partial, however, suggesting that additional mechanisms were at work, such as changes to social norms or teacher behavior. Given that cooperative learning has been shown to enhance student engagement and academic achievement in prior research, we argue that cooperative learning should be a central component of teacher training and professional development.

How Does Positive Work-Related Stress Affect the Degree of Innovation Development?

Many studies sustain that work-related stress exerts pervasive consequences on the employees’ levels of performance, productivity, and wellbeing. However, it remains unclear whether certain levels of stress might lead to positive outcomes regarding employees’ innovativeness. Hence, this paper examines how the five dimensions of work-related stress impact on the employees’ levels of innovation performance. To this aim, this study focused on a sample of 1487 employees from six Italian companies. To test the research hypotheses under assessment, we relied on the use of the partial least squares (PLS) technique. Our results reveal that, in summary, the stressors job autonomy, job demands, and role ambiguity exert a positive and significant impact on the employees’ levels of innovativeness. However, this study failed to find evidence that the supervisors’ support–innovation and colleagues’ support–innovation links are not statistically significant.

When Does Status Turn Into Proactive Helping Behavior? The Moderating Role of Cooperative/Competitive Behavior Intention

Self-perceived status is considered an important antecedent of an employee’s extra-role behavior. However, the relationship between self-perceived status and “proactive helping” has been neglected in previous human resource management (HRM) research. Data were collected from 214 employees and their supervisors in two waves of dyads. The results of hierarchical regression analysis indicated that self-perceived status is positively related to proactive helping behavior, while cooperative and competitive behavior intentions were both found to have a moderating effect on the relationship between self-perceived status and proactive helping behavior. Specifically, the relationship between self-perceived status and proactive helping behavior became stronger as the cooperative behavior intention increased, but weakened as competitive behavior intention increased. These conclusions indicate that organizations should guide employees to enhance their cooperative behavior intention or decrease their competitive behavior intention, which may increase their willingness to proactively help others. The study’s theoretical and practical contributions and future research are discussed.

The socialization of boys and men in the modern era: An evolutionary mismatch

This paper examines the misalignment between modern human society and certain male phenotypes, a misalignment that has been highlighted and explored in great detail in the work of Tom Dishion. We begin by briefly enumerating the ongoing developmental difficulties of many boys and young men and how these difficulties affect them and those around them. We then suggest that the qualities that have been advantageous for men and their families in our earlier evolution but that are often no longer functional in modern society are a source of these problems. Finally, we provide a brief review of prevention programs that can contribute to preventing this type of problematic development and eliciting more prosocial behavior from at-risk boys and men. We conclude with an overview of research and policy priorities that could contribute to reducing the proportion of boys and young men who experience developmental difficulties in making their way in the world.

The Paradox of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Differentiation

Abstract. Drawing from the equity-equality paradigm and social interdependence theory, we examine cross-level effects of leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation on both task performance and creativity using 461 team members and 98 team leaders in China. We demonstrate the paradoxical (i.e., positive and negative) effects of LMX differentiation in teams. Specifically, while LMX differentiation was positively, directly associated with task performance and creativity in more interdependent teams, it also had negative, indirect influences, through interactional justice climate, on these outcomes. Overall, in more interdependent teams, LMX differentiation had positive effects on employee performance-based outcomes, but in less interdependent teams, the effects were more negative. Our findings also provide practical implications for team governance.