The Journal of social psychology
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Past researchers have found that motivating job characteristics can increase employee display of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). In this study, the authors extended previous research by investigating the mediating process of job involvement in the relationship between job characteristics and OCB. ⋯ Results show that, through the mediating process of job involvement, the 3 job characteristics (i.e., task identity, task significance, and autonomy) positively influenced the display of an employee's OCB, whereas skill variety had a negative effect on OCB. The authors discuss implications of their findings, contributions, limitations, and future research directions.
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Research on generalized optimism has been primarily correlational in nature. The authors attempted to experimentally manipulate optimism separately from several related constructs (i.e., mood and self-esteem). They examined 2 different optimism manipulations. ⋯ Both manipulations produced modest increases on a dispositional optimism measure and a situational optimism measure, compared with a control group. The momentary increases appeared particular to the optimism construct because the authors did not find similar increases on measures of mood and self-esteem. The authors provide preliminary evidence that generalized optimism can be validly and discriminantly manipulated.
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The authors investigated the individual characteristic of political skill and its relation to 5 different career-related outcomes (total compensation, promotions, career satisfaction, life satisfaction, and perceived external job mobility). They examined data obtained from a sample of 191 employees working a wide range of occupations. ⋯ In addition, they examined the 4 dimensions of political skill and found that the networking ability dimension dominates the relations with the examined outcomes. The authors discuss practical implications, limitations, and directions for future research.
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Using survey data from 240 employees working in a variety of organizations, the authors examined the relations among commitment to the supervisor, leader-member exchange, supervisor-based self-esteem (SBSE), and relationship and substantive supervisor-subordinate conflicts. They found affective commitment was negatively related to both types of conflicts; perceived lack of alternatives commitment was positively related to relationship conflicts; and leader-member exchange was negatively related to substantive conflicts. ⋯ In addition, when SBSE was low, affective commitment was more strongly related to both types of conflicts, and normative commitment more strongly and positively related to substantive conflicts. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for the understanding of employee-supervisor conflicts.
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Previous studies have indicated that situational context impacts the rapport experience (e.g., F. J. Bernieri, J. ⋯ Results suggested that less attribution of responsibility to the worker and the instructor's experience of enjoyment and frustration were indicative of higher rapport. Other characteristics of dyads reporting higher dyadic rapport included difficulty completing the task and more communicative behavior. The results provide important information for the understanding of the dyadic experience of rapport.