Abstract: We proposed a model that included individual and situational antecedents of self-efficacy development during training. Initial performance and self-efficacy levels, achievement motivation, and choice were examined as individual variables. Constraints, operationalized at both the individual and aggregate levels of analysis, were examined as situational influences. Mid-course efficacy was hypothesized to have positive linear relationships with training reactions and subsequent performance, and an interactive relationship with performance when training reactions were considered as a moderator. Survey data were gathered at two points in time from 215 students enrolled in 15 eight-week long university bowling classes. All of the hypothesized antecedents of mid-course self-efficacy were significant except aggregate and individual situational constraints, although both constraints related negatively to training reactions. Time 2 self-efficacy exhibited significant positive influences on training reactions and subsequent performance, but the hypothesized moderated relationship was not supported.

Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the role of gender in the association of relationship marketing underpinnings (namely trust, commitment, communication, and conflict handling) with customer loyalty.Design/methodology/approach – Data for the research were collected through a survey of customers of banks in Malaysia. Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis (HMRA) was used to estimate the moderation effect of gender in the RM‐customer loyalty relationship.Findings – The results show that the four underpinnings of relationship marketing are directly associated with customer loyalty. Significant gender difference exists in the trust‐loyalty relationship. Women are significantly more loyal than men at higher levels of trust in the bank. Gender does not moderate the relationship between commitment, communication, conflict handling and loyalty.Research limitations/implications – The research focuses on banking services; further research in other sectors may be necessary before generalization can be made...

Abstract: This paper argues that the case for real wage growth restraint, and the consequent restoration of profitability, which the mainstream consensus regards as a necessary condition for sustained output and productivity growth, is based on weak foundations, because it neglects the negative impact of wage moderation on productivity growth. Using a general Keynesian growth model, which integrates a (wage-led or profit-led) demand regime and a productivity regime (incorporating the productivity-growth enhancing effects of higher demand and higher real wages), the conditions are identified under which real wage restraint fails to raise output and productivity growth. The model is applied empirically to the Netherlands (1960--2000). Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.

Abstract: Background: The use of alternative treatments for illness is common in the United States. Practitioners of these interventions find them compatible with personal philosophies. Consequently, distant intercessory prayer (IP) for healing is one of the most commonly practiced alternative interventions and has recently become the topic of scientific scrutiny. Purpose: This study was designed to provide a current meta-analytic review of the effects of IP and to assess the impact of potential moderator variables. Methods: A random effects model was adopted. Outcomes across dependent measures within each study were pooled to arrive at one omnibus effect size. These were combined to generate the overall effect size. A test of homogeneity and examination of several potential moderator variables was conducted. Results: Fourteen studies were included in the meta-analysis yielding an overall effect size of g = .100 that did not differ from zero. When one controversial study was removed, the effect size reduced to g = .012. No moderator variables significantly influenced results. Conclusions: There is no scientifically discernable effect for IP as assessed in controlled studies. Given that the IP literature lacks a theoretical or theological base and has failed to produce significant findings in controlled trials, we recommend that further resources not be allocated to this line of research.

Abstract: This study tested the recent path-goal leadership theory prediction [House, R.J., 1996. Path-goal theory of leadership: Lessons, legacy, and a reformulated theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 7, 323–352] that leader contingent reward behavior negatively moderates relationships between transformational leadership and subordinate performance and job satisfaction at the individual level of analysis. Also tested was the prediction that transformational leadership would positively augment the effects of leader contingent reward behavior [Bass, B.M., 1985. Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York: Free Press]. Confirmatory factor analyses, hierarchical linear multiple regression, and within- and between-entity analyses were employed, along with a sample of 169 social services workers in 40 groups. No evidence was found supporting either the path-goal or additive augmentation hypotheses. However, a positive moderator effect was found for some transformational leader behaviors and the leader contingent reward behavior variable, supporting a form of “augmentation effect” that is not incongruent with Bass's [Bass, B.M., 1985. Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York: Free Press] approach to transformational leadership. Additionally, strong support was obtained for the level of analysis prediction. Future research directions are briefly considered.

Abstract: In this article, we describe a multistudy project designed to explain observed cross-national differences in risk taking between respondents from the People's Republic of China and the United States. Using this example, we develop the following recommendations forcross-cultural investigations. First, like all psychological research, cross-cultural studies should be model based. Investigators should commit themselves to a model of the behavior under study that explicitly specifies possible causal constructs or variables hypothesized to influence the behavior, as well as the relationship between those variables, and allows for individual, group, or cultural differences in the value of these variables or in the relationship between them. This moves the focus from asimple demonstration of cross-national differences toward a prediction ofthe behavior, including its cross-national variation. Ideally, the causal construct hypothesized and shown to differ between cultures should be demonstrated to serve as a moderator or a mediator between culture and observed behavioral differences. Second, investigators should look for converging evidence for hypothesized cultural effects on behavior by looking at multiple dependent variables and using multiple methodological approaches. Thus, the data collection that will allow for the establishment ofconclusive causal connections between acultural variable and some target behavior can be compared with the creation of amosaic.

Abstract: Criminologists have paid close but independent attention to the role of self-control and moral beliefs in shaping criminal/deviant activity This line of research suggests that (low) self-control relates to antisocial behavior while (high) moral beliefs inhibits it There is good reason to believe, however, that moral beliefs moderate the relationship between self-control and antisocial behavior such that under conditions of high moral beliefs, low self-control does not relate to crime while under conditions of low moral beliefs it does Using data collected from over 300 young adults, we assess this moderation hypothesis with two distinct crimes, one instrumental, the other expressive/retaliatory With one exception, our results provide good support for this moderation hypothesis Future theoretical and research directions are noted

Abstract: A major form of data analysis in clinical child and adolescent psychology is multiple regression. This article reviews issues in the application of such methods in light of the research designs typical of this field. Issues addressed include controlling covariates, evaluation of predictor relevance, comparing predictors, analysis of moderation, analysis of mediation, assumption violations, outliers, limited dependent variables, and directed regression and its relation to structural equation modeling. Analytic guidelines are provided within each domain.

Abstract: Aims The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of personal goals (abstinence or moderation) on treatment outcomes for marijuana use. Hypotheses regarding self-efficacy for goal attainment were tested. Design Adult marijuana users seeking treatment were assigned randomly to three treatment conditions: (1) cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention support group; (2) individualized brief motivational enhancement; and (3) delayed treatment control group. Follow-up assessments were conducted at 4, 7, 13 and 16 months. Setting University research offices. Participants Participants were 291 adult marijuana users. Measurements Marijuana use, personal treatment goals and self-efficacy for achieving one’s goal were assessed across the 16-month follow-up. Findings Greater marijuana related problems and dependence symptoms were associated with an initial goal of abstinence. Participants were more likely to achieve outcomes consistent with their personal goals. Participants with abstinence goals reported greater self-efficacy for goal achievement than those with moderation goals after participating in the abstinence oriented treatment; self-efficacy for goal success predicted goal achievement for both moderate use and abstinence goals. Conclusions Marijuana users approaching an abstinence-oriented treatment varied in the extent to which they were actively seeking abstinence as the outcome. Differences in goals were predictable from severity of problems related to use. Goal preference and self-efficacy for achieving goals predicted outcomes. Future research should incorporate personal goals into treatment and assess their effects on outcomes.

Abstract: This study explores the relationship between time perspective (TP), cannabis use and risk perceptions associated to this substance. A sample of French students (n=198) were provided with a valid French version of the ZTPI scale. Risk perceptions linked to cannabis consumption were evaluated from a list of 22 items referring to different risks. Respondents were asked to declare how frequently they consumed this substance. Data analysis was based on firstly, ZTPI scores, secondly, declared consumption and finally, two risk perception indices which were established after factorial analysis. Results showed that TP acted as a significant predictor of both psychoactive substance use and of cannabis consumption frequency. Significant links between consumption and risk perception also appeared. A second series of analyses showed that TP acted as a moderating variable in this link between cannabis consumption and risk perception. These findings indicate that TP must be considered as a significant variable when analysing the complexity of contemporary cannabis use and suggests that further research in this area should be carried out.

Abstract: According to Social Identity Theory (cf., J. G. March & H. A. Simon, 1958), individuals tend to identify with prestigious or high-status groups. Researchers (J. E. Dutton, J. M. Dukerich, & C. V. Harquail, 1994) have revealed that organizational members also identify with organizations that have attractive public images. To gain a better understanding of the theoretical reasons underlying the relationship between image and identification in organizations, the authors examined this relationship in a healthcare setting. In addition, they investigated need for esteem as a moderator of the relationship between construed external image and organizational identification. Consistent with previous findings, the present results indicated that construed external image is positively related to organizational identification. Perhaps it is more important that the present findings also supported need for esteem as a moderator of the relationship between construed external image and organizational identification.

Abstract: Summary In this study, we examined the role of organizational level as a moderator of the relationships of procedural and distributive justice with seven employee attitudes and behaviors. Based on social identity and resource allocation theories, we suggested an allocational model of authority in organizations. We posited that lower rank encourages a more process-oriented perspective that emphasizes procedural concerns while higher rank imbues a more resultoriented perspective that emphasizes distributive outcomes. We considered the cultural context that characterized work relationships in our sample of respondents from a Chinese state-owned enterprise. Significant sets of interactions supported the predicted relationships of procedural justice with three outcomes at lower levels and distributive justice with four outcomes at higher levels. Implications and extensions of these findings are considered. Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract: Hardy personality as moderator variable of burnout syndrome in firefighters. In last years, theorists and researchers have pointed to the relevance of personal factors in resilience and vulnerability on burnout. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of hardy personality as moderator of the relationship between job stressors and burnout. A total of 405 firefighters of the Comunnity of Madrid participated in the study. The results of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that the challenge component of hardy personality buffer the influence of job stressors on the ocurrence of burnout. Results support the hypothesis that hardy personality may have moderator effects on burnout. Furthermore, commitment appeared as a mediator of the relationships between burnout and its associated symptomatology. Finally, discussion emphasized the need to focus on the interaction between personal and contextual factors in order to make advances in understanding the burnout process.

Abstract: This study examined attachment organization as a moderator of the link between the quality of the adolescents' current friendships and delinquent behavior. Data were gathered from a moderately at-risk sample of 71 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse adolescents. Results revealed a moderating effect of attachment organization (as assessed by the AAI) such that strong and supportive friendships were linked to lower levels of delinquency, but only when adolescents' attachment organization reflected an orientation toward heightened attention to attachment relationships (via preoccupation or via clear lack of dismissal of attachment). These results suggest that attachment organization plays an important role in delineating the conditions under which the qualities of social relationships are likely to be linked to important psychosocial outcomes.

Abstract: The present study investigated whether employees are merely interested in hearing good news about themselves, as predicted by self-enhancement theory, or are more interested in feedback that confirms their self-concept, as predicted by self-verification theory. We examined in a field study whether self-view certainty serves as a moderator and strengthens the effect of congruence between individuals' self-views and the performance feedback they receive about these self-views on feedback reactions. Polynomial regression results revealed that people mainly reacted favourably to positive feedback. Prior self-views did not play a key role in explaining feedback reactions. As feedback scores were the main determinant of feedback reactions, it seems that feedback reactions are dominated by self-enhancement strivings and that self-verification strivings are less prominent. Little support was found for the moderating role of self-view certainty.

Abstract: This study examined relationships between the quality of cooperative learning (CL) and students' goal preferences and perceptions of contextual factors in the classroom. Subjects were 1,920 students in secondary vocational schools. The study focused on four different types of goals: social support, belongingness, mastery, and superiority goals. It was found that social support goals had the strongest relation with the quality of CL. Further we found that the quality of CL was best predicted by a combination of social support goals, evaluations of the extent that students were taught cooperation skills, perception of teacher monitoring behavior, and the availability of academic and emotional peer support. Female students' preferences for mastery and social goals were stronger than those of male students, whereas male students had a stronger preference for superiority goals. Program type functioned as a moderator variable within the relation of students' superiority/ individuality goals and the quality of CL.

Abstract: The current study examined the combined moderating effects of cognitive ability and social support on the relation between race-related stress and quality of life in a sample of Black Americans. Participants (N = 323) were administered the Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT; E. F. Wonderlic Associates, Inc., 1983), the Multidimensional Social Support Scale (MDSS; Winefield, Winefield, & Tiggemann, 1992), the Index of Race-Related Stress-Brief (Utsey, 1999), and the WHOQOL-BREF (The WHO Group, 1998). The findings indicated that cognitive ability and social support, conjointly, moderated the relation between individual and cultural race-related stress and quality of life for Black Americans in the current sample. The paper concludes by discussing the study's findings, limitations, and by offering recommendations for future research related to this area of inquiry.

Abstract: In the present study the authors used an event-contingent daily recording strategy, the Rochester Interaction Record, to examine the relation of perceived evaluations of a multicultural person’s heritage group to the nature and quality of his or her social interactions. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that having an interaction partner who positively evaluated one’s heritage culture was associated with significantly enhanced interaction intimacy, disclosure, and quality, as well as with feelings of personal acceptance. Moderator analyses revealed that individuals who possessed a chameleon-like cultural identity and those who had low public collective self-esteem were particularly reactive to how their heritage group

Abstract: This article, the first of a series of two, reports on the findings of a conceptual model which empirically tested the impact of selected independent variables (reputation, relevance, personality, performance and relationship) on a moderating variable (brand identity) and, in turn, the influence thereof on brand image as the dependent variable. Stakeholders of a recently merged Higher Education Institution, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, were surveyed using a newly developed research instrument. The empirical results revealed that the independent variables reputation, personality, performance and relationship exerted a significant positive influence on the moderating variable brand identity. The items used to measure the variable relevance did not demonstrate acceptable levels of discriminant and construct validity and could not be subjected to further testing.

Abstract: The relationship between information and decision-making is a complex one and has been the subject of extensive research spanning several decades, with roots in nineteenth and early twentieth century economic theories. More recently, researchers have suggested a relationship between the quality of information and the quality of decision-making, with a consequent relationship with organizational strategy; however, there has been very little research in which this relationship was investigated systematically. This research set forth contextual and conceptual models relating information quality to strategy and then provided an empirical investigation of the relationship between information quality and organizational outcomes, with information intensity hypothesized as a moderator of that relationship. Data for this study were collected through a Web-based survey of individuals associated with an industry consortium and were evaluated through a combination of multiple regression analysis, moderated regression analysis, and subgroup analysis. Data analysis revealed evidence that the relationship between the quality of information and organizational outcomes is systematically measurable, in that measurements of information quality can be used to predict organizational outcomes, and that this relationship is, for the most part, positive. An unexpected finding was that different regression models emerge when stakeholder roles in an information system are taken into consideration. Data analysis did not reveal support for the hypothesis that information intensity moderates the relationship between information quality and organizational outcomes.

Abstract: Although there is a well-documented association between relationship discord and depression, many individuals experience either discord or depression without experiencing the other. To understand this phenomenon, the authors evaluated moderators of the association between relationship discord and major depression among married or cohabiting individuals in the National Comorbidity Survey (N = 2,538; R. C. Kessler et al., 1994). Potential moderators included demographics, personality characteristics, parental depression, and childhood loss. Only one significant moderator was found: There was a stronger association between discord and depression for married people (vs. cohabiters). Among married individuals only, neuroticism also served as a moderator: Individuals higher in neuroticism showed a stronger association between discord and depression. In general, findings suggest that when a person or family presents with one problem (e.g., relationship discord), it is important to evaluate and potentially treat the other problem (e.g., depression) as well.

Abstract: We argue that entrepreneurship research should use meta-analysis to integrate the findings of the field. A meta-analytical approach has several advantages as compared with narrative reviews: First, narrative reviews are likely to bias empirical evidence because they are limited by the information-processing capacities of the reviewers (Tett, Jackson, & Rothstein, 1991). This is often a downward bias leading to the conclusion of little positive knowledge in the field. For example, frequency counts of significant results ignore sampling errors of individual studies, reliability problems of instruments, range restrictions of samples, dichotomization of continuous variables, imperfect construct validity, and extraneous factors (Hunter & Schmidt, 2004). These issues usually result in a higher incidence of Type II errors (i.e., rejecting the hypothesis wrongly). Thus, narrative reviews are more likely to lead to the conclusion that there are no relationships between independent and dependent variables in entrepreneurship when in fact they are (Hunter & Schmidt, 1990; Tett et al., 1991). Second, meta-analysis accumulates studies based on a set of explicit decision rules and, therefore, is less biased by subjective perceptions of the reviewer than narrative reviews. Meta-analyses require judgments as well, e.g., when defining the area of the study or coding moderator variables. However, the decisions are public and open to criticism and replication by other scientists (Johnson & Eagly, 2000). Third, meta-analysis is based on many studies and, thus, avoids the influence of single studies. Fourth, meta-analysis controls for sampling error variance and, thus, controls for power deficits of individual studies (Hunter & Schmidt, 2004). For example, the Brockhaus and Nord (1979) study is frequently cited in the entrepreneurship literature for providing evidence that there is no relationship of personality characteristics with entrepreneurship. However, this study is based on a small sample of 31 business owners and therefore, has serious statistical power problems. Noteworthy, the effect sizes of small samples are less precise in estimating a population value than effect sizes of larger samples. Fifth, meta-analyses can correct many errors of individual studies (Hunter & Schmidt, 2004). Since meta-analyses estimate population correlations between given variables, it is important to correct for errors of studies (e.g., unreliability, range restriction, and sampling error) to achieve unbiased estimates. Sixth, meta-analysis allows an assessment of the magnitude of relationships and, thus, provides more precise and often comparable assessments of the validity of concepts. Thus, meta-analyses support the assessment of the practical significance of findings. Seventh, meta-analysis tests for variations in relationships across studies and, therefore, allows an assessment of the generalizeability of effects. If the size of reported relationships varies considerably between different studies, there will be context conditions that account for these variations. These context conditions are moderators that affect the size of relationships. The moderators may include study characteristics, method moderators, and theoretical moderators. Thus, meta-analyses also help to identify areas for new studies. Finally, meta-analysis techniques allow to test more than one independent and/or moderator variable by using methods based on regression analysis (Lipsey & Wilson, 2001). Using such procedures allows to estimate the independent contribution of variables on results, to control for methodological variables, and to test the interactions between moderator variables.

Abstract: Motivational differences as a function of sample type (applicants versus incumbents) have frequently been suspected of causing meaningful differences in the psychometric properties of personality inventories due to the effects of faking. In this quantitative review, correlations among the Big Five personality constructs were estimated and sample type was examined as a potential moderator of the personality construct inter-correlations. The resulting subgroup meta-analytic correlation matrices were factor-analyzed, and the second order factor solutions for job incumbents and job applicants were compared. Results of the metaanalyses indicate frequent, but small moderating effects. The second order factor analyses indicated that the observed moderation had little effect on the congruence of factor loadings. Together, the results are consistent with the position that faking is of little practical consequence in selection settings.

Abstract: The study examined the possible pathways by which locus of control influenced the relationship between workplace policies and work-family conflict. Initially, supportive workplace policies were predicted to be negatively correlated with work-family conflict. In a sample of 142 Malaysian employees combining work and family, results of the regression analyses showed that after controlling for demographic variables and locus of control, workplace policies were not related to conflict. More importantly, however, the results showed that locus of control had both direct and moderator effects on the relationship between workplace policies and work-family conflict. No mediation effect was found. The implications of these findings were discussed with respect to the literature on personality and workplace policies within the work-family linkage.

Abstract: The current article argues that taking subjective theories of both the rater and ratee into consideration contributes to a deeper understanding of leadership evaluations. In the present study, individuals' pre-existing implicit personality theory (Dweck, 1996) was measured in an organizational setting and was identified as a moderating variable for leadership assessments (108 participants). It was shown that when judging their managers, raters who believe in the ability to change and the dynamic nature of personality (“incremental theorists”) place significantly stronger weight on the situation and dynamic factors, while raters who believe in the stability of human characteristics (“entity theorists”) focus more strongly on their relationship to these people. Moreover, managers with entity theory are judged significantly more positively than managers with an incremental theory. In view of these findings, implications are derived for the measurement of leadership behaviour as well as information concerning...