Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions' effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior-several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people's initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors.

Tackling upcoming projects: The development and efficacy of event previews an experimental study

Traditional performance management systems are increasingly seen as ill-conceived for today's dynamic organizational landscape. Researchers and practitioners advocate for agile PM systems that emphasize continuous monitoring, learning, and feedback. We present the 'event preview', a novel approach that is designed to address several shortcomings of traditional performance management practices. Event previews consist of five fixed questions, which are discussed among team members before an event, instigating a detailed reflection and mental simulation of upcoming events or projects in order to achieve the desired outcomes. In doing so, event previews support teams to utilize their projects as learning opportunities. This study provides the theoretical basis for the event preview and empirically tests its effectiveness. A sample of 119 teams participated in the experiment in which they were asked to solve as many puzzles as possible within a fixed time frame. One condition conducted an event preview beforehand, the other condition did not. Our findings, which were based on a comparison of the averages of the two conditions, suggest that the event preview holds promise for improving team performance and communication. As such, the event preview presents an additional instrument to the changing performance management landscape. This simple practice can be incorporated in the performance management cycle, emphasizing adaptability and continuous improvement in organizations.

Coaching doctors to improve ethical decision-making in adult hospitalised patients potentially receiving excessive treatment: Study protocol for a stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Fast medical progress poses a significant challenge to doctors, who are asked to find the right balance between life-prolonging and palliative care. Literature indicates room for enhancing openness to discuss ethical sensitive issues within and between teams, and improving decision-making for benefit of the patient at end-of-life.

METHODS

Stepped wedge cluster randomized trial design, run across 10 different departments of the Ghent University Hospital between January 2022 and January 2023. Dutch speaking adult patients and one of their relatives will be included for data collection. All 10 departments were randomly assigned to start a 4-month coaching period. Junior and senior doctors will be coached through observation and debrief by a first coach of the interdisciplinary meetings and individual coaching by the second coach to enhance self-reflection and empowering leadership and managing group dynamics with regard to ethical decision-making. Nurses, junior doctors and senior doctors anonymously report perceptions of excessive treatment via the electronic patient file. Once a patient is identified by two or more different clinicians, an email is sent to the second coach and the doctor in charge of the patient. All nurses, junior and senior doctors will be invited to fill out the ethical decision making climate questionnaire at the start and end of the 12-months study period. Primary endpoints are (1) incidence of written do-not-intubate and resuscitate orders in patients potentially receiving excessive treatment and (2) quality of ethical decision-making climate. Secondary endpoints are patient and family well-being and reports on quality of care and communication; and clinician well-being. Tertiairy endpoints are quantitative and qualitative data of doctor leadership quality.

DISCUSSION

This is the first randomized control trial exploring the effects of coaching doctors in self-reflection and empowering leadership, and in the management of team dynamics, with regard to ethical decision-making about patients potentially receiving excessive treatment.

Do Multiple I-Deals in a Team Help or Hinder Team Outcomes? A Resource Scarcity Perspective

Idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) are individualized employment arrangements negotiated and agreed upon by individual employees and their organization. This study addresses an emerging conundrum in i-deals research—whether the prevalence of i-deals in teams helps or hinders team outcomes. Because teams in which i-deals are prevalent receive more resources and status, they may be more cohesive and engage in more supportive behaviors. On the other hand, because i-deals differentiate among team members, teams in which i-deals are prevalent may be less cohesive and less inclined to engage in OCB. To solve this puzzle, we draw from a resource scarcity perspective to posit that understanding intra-team i-deal dynamics requires taking into account both organizational-level (i.e., organizational i-deal scarcity) and team-level (i.e., team power structure) factors. Using data from 40 organizations, 166 teams, and 1016 employees, we disentangle the complex interplay among the prevalence of i-deals in a team, organizational i-deal scarcity, and intra-team power structure in predicting both team cohesion and intra-team OCB.

COVID-19 and the workplace: Implications, issues, and insights for future research and action

The impacts of COVID-19 on workers and workplaces across the globe have been dramatic. This broad review of prior research rooted in work and organizational psychology, and related fields, is intended to make sense of the implications for employees, teams, and work organizations. This review and preview of relevant literatures focuses on (a) emergent changes in work practices (e.g., working from home, virtual teamwork) and (b) emergent changes for workers (e.g., social distancing, stress, and unemployment). In addition, potential moderating factors (demographic characteristics, individual differences, and organizational norms) are examined given the likelihood that COVID-19 will generate disparate effects. This broad-scope overview provides an integrative approach for considering the implications of COVID-19 for work, workers, and organizations while also identifying issues for future research and insights to inform solutions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Like ships passing in the night: toward a truly dyadic perspective on feedback dynamics

Purpose

This paper aims to extend the argument of DeNisi & Smith Sockbeson, who called to bridge the gap between feedback-seeking and feedback-giving research. The paper pushes their argument further by suggesting that future feedback research should systematically adopt a dyadic and dynamic approach to enhance the understanding of feedback episodes.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reviews previous empirical work in the feedback domain and develops conceptual arguments for linking feedback-seeking and feedback intervention research.

Findings

Drawing upon previous work, the authors conclude that the current depiction of feedback processes in the literature might have been overly static and one-sided. Furthermore, it is argued that feedback research might have not kept up to date with recent conceptual and methodological developments in dyadic organizational behavior research.

Research limitations/implications

This paper builds on the argument of DeNisi & Smith Sockbeson, in turn contributing to a more complete picture of how feedback processes unfold in organizations. While this paper profiles a few studies that have begun to bridge the disconnect between feedback-seeking and feedback-giving research, one of its limitations is that it does not adopt a systematic approach in reviewing all potential methodologies.

Originality/value

This paper provides a first step toward studying feedback episodes as dyadic and dynamic processes. In doing so it helps solving one of the long-standing puzzles in management research namely why feedback interventions are sometimes detrimental to performance.

Leaders' achievement goals predict employee burnout above and beyond employees' own achievement goals

OBJECTIVE

Burnout has primarily been examined from an individual's perspective without taking the broader environmental context into account. The authors applied an integrative, multilevel perspective and investigated the influence of leaders' motivational strivings on employee burnout. In two multisource studies, we investigated relationships between leaders' achievement goals and employee burnout while controlling for employees' own achievement goals.

METHOD

Study 1 consisted of 362 members and 72 leaders of the corresponding working groups. Study 2 consisted of 177 employees and 46 leaders of the corresponding working groups, and measurements were spaced apart in time. We also ran a model including the data of both Study 1 and Study 2.

RESULTS

Multilevel analyses indicated that leaders' mastery-approach goals were negatively related to employee burnout above and beyond employees' own achievement goals. Leaders' performance-approach goals were positively related to employee burnout in Study 1 and in the overall analysis combining Study 1 and Study 2.

CONCLUSIONS

We advance our understanding of the motivational etiology of burnout by examining the top-down effects of leaders' achievement goals on employee burnout over and above employees' own achievement goals. In order to reduce burnout, organizations should take leaders' achievement goals into account as an important contextual factor.

What Makes Creative Teams Tick? Cohesion, Engagement, and Performance Across Creativity Tasks: A Three-Wave Study

The present study examines the mediational role of collective engagement in the relationship between team cohesion and team creative performance. A reciprocal process was expected to unfold across creativity task episodes: (a) team cohesion leads to collective task engagement, which in turn has a positive effect on team creative performance (perceived team performance and independently rated creativity), and (b) perceived team creative performance predicts the development of future team cohesion. The study relied on a longitudinal three-wave research design through an organizational simulation exercise, in which 118 project teams (605 individuals) were charged with three creativity tasks. This study advances collective task engagement as an important mediational process explaining team performance in creative activities.

Generatieverschillen op de werkvloer: een systematische analyse van een mytheDank aan de reviewers voor de zeer bruikbare suggesties en waardevolle commentaren. Dank ook aan Marjolein Feys voor het controleren en verbeteren van het manuscript

Dit artikel toetst kritisch de claim dat generaties fundamenteel van elkaar verschillen en we hen daardoor op de werkvloer anders zouden moeten benaderen. We doen dit aan de hand van een uitgebreide en systematische literatuurstudie. We leggen eerst de theoretische rationale voor veronderstelde generatieverschillen uit, waarna een evaluatie volgt van conceptuele en methodologische problemen met het huidige generatie-onderzoek. Vervolgens wordt via een systematisch overzicht van empirische studies de evidentie getoetst voor generatieverschillen op de werkvloer. Hieruit blijkt dat de wetenschappelijke literatuur tot op heden geen evidentie biedt voor het onderscheiden van generaties op de werkvloer. Ten slotte bieden we enkele suggesties voor toekomstig onderzoek aan.

Generatieverschillen op de werkvloer: 'What people believe is true is frequently wrong'

Deze bijdrage betreft een commentaar op een reactie van Lub en Van der Smissen (2016) op het artikel 'Generatieverschillen op de werkvloer: Een systematische analyse van een mythe'. In dit commentaar bespreken we ten eerste de doelstelling van het oorspronkelijke artikel, waarna we verder ingaan op de gemaakte bezwaren van Lub en Van der Smissen. Daarnaast bespreken we de waarde voor de praktijk, pleiten we voor een beter inzicht in het ontstaan van generatiedenken en proberen we tenslotte te verklaren waarom men blijft vasthouden aan dergelijke mythes.

When idols look into the future: fair treatment modulates the affective forecasting error in talent show candidates

People's affective forecasts are often inaccurate because they tend to overestimate how they will feel after an event. As life decisions are often based on affective forecasts, it is crucial to find ways to manage forecasting errors. We examined the impact of a fair treatment on forecasting errors in candidates in a Belgian reality TV talent show. We found that perceptions of fair treatment increased the forecasting error for losers (a negative audition decision) but decreased it for winners (a positive audition decision). For winners, this effect was even more pronounced when candidates were highly invested in their self-view as a future pop idol whereas for losers, the effect was more pronounced when importance was low. The results in this study point to a potential paradox between maximizing happiness and decreasing forecasting errors. A fair treatment increased the forecasting error for losers, but actually made them happier.

Systematic Reflection

Drawing on a growing stream of empirical findings that runs across different psychological domains, we demonstrated that systematic reflection stands out as a prominent tool for learning from experience. For decades, failed experiences have been considered the most powerful learning sources. Despite the theoretical and practical relevance, few researchers have investigated whether people can also learn from their successes. We showed that through systematic reflection, people can learn from both their successes and their failures. Studies have further shown that the effectiveness of systematic reflection depends on situational (e.g., reflection focus) and person-based (e.g., conscientiousness) factors. Given today’s unrelenting pace and the abundance of activities in which people are involved, future researchers may want to investigate how to effectively integrate systematic reflection within the busy daily environment of the learner.

Een kritische kijk op onderzoeks- en publicatieontwikkelingen in de Arbeids- en Organisatiepsychologie

A critical review of research and publication trends in the field of Industrial and Organizational psychology

The aim of this article consists of critically reviewing research and publication trends in the field of industrial and organizational psychology. The focus is on four trends: (1) the extreme importance of theory, (2) the loss of the identity of industrial and organizational psychology, (3) the cumbersome nature of the review process, and (4) the deficient reporting of methodology and results in light of replication research. After each trend recommendations are made to turn the situation around. We also hope that this article might generate the necessary discussion about these four trends.

Relatiekwaliteit als moderator in de relatie tussen procedurele rechtvaardigheid en reacties op feedback in prestatiebeoordeling

Supervisor-subordinate relationship quality as a moderator in the relationship between procedural justice and feedback reactions in performance appraisal

M. Feys, N. Libbrecht, F. Anseel & F. Lievens, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 21, November 2008, nr. 4, pp. 430-450

In this study, we examined the influence of supervisor-subordinate relationship quality and employees' justice perceptions on feedback reactions. Based on organisational justice theory, however, we expect that the effect of justice on feedback reactions is moderated by relationship quality. We examined this hypothesis in two cross-sectional field studies (N = 219 and N = 83) using two different types of performance appraisal. The results support the hypothesis and suggest that there is an interaction effect between relationship quality and justice with acceptance of feedback being highest when one of both antecedent factors was favourable. These insights can offer organisations concrete strategies for stimulating employee development through feedback.

Improving accuracy in detecting acoustic onsets

In current cognitive psychology, naming latencies are commonly measured by electronic voice keys that detect when sound exceeds a certain amplitude threshold. However, recent research (e.g., K. Rastle & M. H. Davis, 2002) has shown that these devices are particularly inaccurate in precisely detecting acoustic onsets. In this article, the authors discuss the various problems and solutions that have been put forward with respect to this issue and show that classical voice keys may trigger several tens of milliseconds later than acoustic onset. The authors argue that a solution to this problem may come from voice keys that use a combination of analogue and digital noise (nonspeech sound) detection. It is shown that the acoustic onsets detected by such a device are only a few milliseconds delayed and correlate highly (up to .99) with reaction time values obtained by visual waveform inspection.

An Examination of Strategies for Encouraging Feedback Interest After Career Assessment

This study examines how feedback interest after career assessment can be influenced by changing individuals’ beliefs about the importance and modifiability of the various performance dimensions. In an experiment, 82 master students completed a computerized assessment tool developed for assessing managerial potential. Results showed that participants in the experimental condition were more interested in feedback about important dimensions as opposed to unimportant dimensions and were more interested in feedback about nonmodifiable dimensions as opposed to modifiable dimensions. These findings might assist career counselors and organizations in designing strategies that direct feedback interest toward performance dimensions that are most important for their clients’ career or that are most valued in their organization.