Vol 2 No 3
Vol 2 No 3
Vol 2 No 3
2. Processes related with tasks and their effects on the effectiveness of the military
microgroups - Ilie Cristian
Page 4
4. Salarization system, age and work experience as predictors of physical and mental
health during present economic crisis– Anca Mihaela Păsălău
Page 25
1
EDITORIAL
MIHAELA CHRAIF
University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences,
Department of Psychology
Email: mihaela.chraif@fpse.unibuc.ro
2
the paths traveled by nerve impulses and more accurate reactions of the human
body such as heart rate, blood pressure or pulmonary breathing were analyzed.
A new era in the study of emotions has been opened by the use of physiological
sensors such as polygraph sensors, brain tomography and MRI.
Polygraph used especially in forensic psychology is actually based on a set of
sensors that measure GSR, blood pressure, respiration amplitude, respiration rate
and peripheral circulation of the human body. Furthermore, studies using MRI
have shown a correspondence between inner emotional feelings, expressed
behaviors and cortical activations. Moreover, scientific research has proven the
existence of a relation between expressed behavior and certain cortical areas that
are activated in times of fear, anger, joy, pain, etc.
Given the psychological applications of emotions measurement, they are
quantified in organizations and human resources in order to prove the importance
of maintaining positive relations at work, in the organizational environment and at
home, on the road, in the park or in schools and colleges.
Of special interest is the cognitive behavioral control of emotion in cognitive
behavioral therapy and behavioral therapy. Thus specialists are attempting to
quantify and minimize negative affective thoughts and feelings of patients as
compared to people who experience within normal parameters.
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PROCESSES RELATED WITH TASKS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MILITARY MICROGROUPS
ILIE CRISTIAN1
University of Bucharest
1. INTRODUCTION
1
PhD student, Department of Doctoral School
Contact: iliecristian@yahoo.com
4
2. OBJECTIVE AND HYPOTHESES
The central question of this study was formulated as follows: “What are the
processes associated with the activities specific to the military micro-groups,
how do they interact with each other and how do these dimensions affect the
efficiency of this military structure?”
Highlighting the fact that the interaction between the following dimensions
influences the effectiveness of the micro-military group: leadership, guidance,
monitoring each other's performance, support behavior, adaptability, mutual
trust, shared mental models and communication (closed-loop type).
2.2. Hypotheses
The hypotheses formulated in this study (from 1 to 15) suggest the relations
between these variables, as Salas proposed (2005, p. 571), with three minor
adjustments for this model. These minor adjustments refer to the relations between
the communication process and the other variables of the model. Hypotheses 16 to
21 represent the relations suggested by Salas (2005), but they have not been
incorporated in their model.
Hypothesis 1: Adaptability has a positive influence on the effectiveness of the
military micro-group.
Hypothesis 2: The support behavior has a positive influence on the
effectiveness of the military micro-group.
Hypothesis 3: The support behavior has a positive influence on adaptability.
Hypothesis 4: Mutual monitoring of performance has a positive influence on
the support behavior.
Hypothesis 5: Mutual trust has a positive influence on mutual monitoring of
performance.
Hypothesis 6: Leadership has a positive influence on the mutual monitoring
of performance.
Hypothesis 7: Leadership has a positive influence on the support behavior.
Hypothesis 8: The military micro-group orientation has a positive influence
on the mutual monitoring of performance.
Hypothesis 9: The military micro-group orientation has a positive influence
on the support behavior.
Hypothesis 10: Common mental models have a positive influence on the
mutual monitoring of performance.
5
Hypothesis 11: Common mental models have a positive influence on the
support behavior.
Hypothesis 12: Common mental models have a positive influence on
adaptability.
Hypothesis 13: Communication has a positive influence on the mutual
monitoring of performance.
Hypothesis 14: Communication has a positive influence on the support
behavior.
Hypothesis 15: Communication has a positive influence on adaptability.
Hypothesis 16: Mutual trust has a positive influence on the support behavior.
Hypothesis 17: Mutual trust has a positive influence on leadership.
Hypothesis 18: Leadership has a positive influence on common mental
models
Hypothesis 19: Leadership has a positive influence on the military micro-
group orientation.
Hypotheses 22 to 24 derive from the consideration of emerging states,
cohesion within the special military micro-group and respect among its members,
indicators of efficiency.
Hypothesis 21: Mutual monitoring of performance has a positive influence on
adaptability.
Hypothesis 22: The efficiency of the special military micro-group has a
positive influence on performance.
Hypothesis 23: The efficiency of the special military micro-group has a
positive influence on cohesion.
Hypothesis 24: The efficiency of the special military micro-group has a
positive influence on mutual respect.
3. METHOD
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and several factors that may affect the development of the micro-group over time.
Secondly, the platoon leaders were invited to provide information on the
effectiveness of the micro-groups they command. It is difficult to carry out
research with soldiers who are deployed, especially when circumstances in the area
of operations, are dangerous. To overcome these barriers, our research was
conducted in two moments: the first - after the training phase, shortly before
deploying into a theater of operations, and the second - on their return to country.
3.2. Instruments
7
this purpose will also be described. Finally, the psychometric characteristics of the
instruments used in this research will be analyzed.
4. RESULTS
8
As one can see in Table 2, all Cronbach alpha coefficients of all scales fidelity
have values starting from 0.70, which shows that the scales have a good fidelity
level.
The next step was to test the discriminative validity for the constructs of the
study, using data that was provided by the members of the military micro-groups.
This was achieved by applying the confirmatory factorial analysis to the maximum
verisimilitude estimation method (maximum-likelihood confirmatory) with AMOS
7.
The analysis results support the theoretical predictions. The general
conformity indices of the model argue that the model is supported by the
covariance observed from the actual data, provided by the members of the special
military micro-groups.
All items are saturated in the respective factors. The latent factors are inter-
correlated. The confirmatory factorial analysis was performed on Moment 1 and 2,
combined. More indexes can be used to test the model matching. Thus, Kline
(2005) suggested that the CFI index (confirmatory fit index), the absolute residual
index (RMSEA) - which has the advantage of offering a trust interval - and the
standardized residual index (SRMR) should be used to determine model matching.
As other researchers suggested, an appropriate model requires the CFI values
to be above 0.90, the absolute residual index (RMSEA) value to be below 0.05, in
order to show a better correspondence between data and the theoretical model
(values between 0.05 and 0.08 suggest a reasonable harmonization error, while
values > 0.10 show a weak correspondence), and the standardized residual index
(SRMR) value should be below 0.10. In addition, the discrepancy value χ2 will be
reported because it is mentioned in almost all reports (Kline, 2005). The
discrepancy value χ2 being influenced by the sample size, this index will not be
used to assess the model correspondence in this study.
As shown in Table 3, there is a proper correspondence between the data and
the theoretical model.
All standardized regression coefficients have values above ,60 and are
significant from the statistics point of view, although these aspects indicate that all
items are strong predictors for the constructs that include them. In conclusion the
results presented support the discriminator validity of all the constructs comprised
in this study.
We also assessed the single-dimensionality and the fidelity of the dimension
“external evaluation of results” at platoon level. EFA revealed a single-factorial
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solution for these nine items. This factor accounted for 56,9% (Moment 1) and
59,0% (Moment 2) from the variation. The alfa Cronbach fidelity coefficients
corresponding to the scale used for the external evaluation of the results obtained at
platoon level was 0.90 (Moment 1) and 0.91 (Moment 2).
We calculated the average score corresponding to the nine items for each
evaluator. After that, we calculated the average score provided by evaluators for
each military micro-group and the average score obtained at platoon level.
In this study we used as aggregation method at micro-group level the average of
the evaluations obtained from the micro-group members (the micro-group average
score). This simple method has a limit: it is based on the assumption that the individual
perception of the micro-group members is similar.
In the military domain, most tasks in the theater of operations are performed
by micro-groups that usually operate in dangerous situations that can endanger
their lives. In order for this kind of micro-groups to be effective, the capacity to
work together to accomplish the specific tasks is crucial.
Table 4 presents the average scores and the standard deviations for the
variables in the model. The correlations between variables are also presented in the
same table. The correlations between most variables go past 0.40, and this fact
indicates a substantial overlap between variables. Although CFA offered support to the
discriminative validity, the high correlations between the variables at special military
micro-groups level can trigger co-linearity in regression analyses and in the path
analysis.
Construct 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 M AS M AS
M1 M2
Mutual trust ,48 ,85 ,67 ,74 ,75 - 3,62 ,38 3,68 ,45
Common ,64 ,62 ,70 ,68 ,79 ,63 - 3,65 ,39 3,68 ,42
mental
models
10
Communicati ,41 ,63 ,62 ,64 ,68 ,56 ,52 - 3,68 ,41 3,64 ,39
on
Military ,41 ,58 ,56 ,58 ,62 ,57 ,51 ,38 - 3,89 ,30 3,95 ,33
micro-group
results
Cohesion ,41 ,60 ,48 ,53 ,51 ,61 ,47 ,39 ,50 - 3,72 ,33 3,62 ,42
Respect ,25 ,51 ,44 ,51 ,48 ,48 ,42 ,38 ,50 ,50 - 3,66 ,27 3,68 ,31
External ,14 ,15 ,15 ,18 ,32 ,22 ,20 ,20 ,19 ,13 ,07 - 3,90 ,48 4,06 ,50
evaluation of
results
Colinearities can lead to high uncertainty (the standard errors) and inaccuracy
(slope coefficients). The effect of a high co-linearity consists in the increase of the
probability to obtain regression coefficients that are statistically insignificant for
one of the variables that correlate strongly, because this problem affects the “t”
values associated to these coefficients, due to the difficulty to detect the effects of
each independent variable on the dependent one.
Therefore, colinearity was diagnosed by performing a number of eight
regression analyses.
In each regression analysis, one of the eight variables was used as the
dependent variable, while the remaining seven variables were used as independent
variables.
The data set that was used for this analysis resulted from combining the
results recorded at the time 1 and 2. The analysis of each coefficient of
determination obtained showed that the model of the evolution of the dependent
variables taken together explains the dispersion of independent variables.
Variables F p R2
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S.P.S.S. offers two other ways to diagnose a high multicoliniarity by
indicators VIF (variance inflation factor) and tolerance (1/VIF). Tolerance is the
extent to which the dependent variable can be predicted by independent variables
(Miles & Shevlin, 2001). If the VIF (variance inflation factor) values are over 10
and those of the tolerance indicator is below 0.10, we are dealing with a serious
breach of the conditions of regression use, because of multicoliniarity. Analyses
showed that tolerance indicators are higher than 0.10 and no indicator of the VIF
(variance inflation factor) exceeded 10. So, although many variables are correlated,
each variable adds some unique information and none of them is redundant.
In total, 20 (twenty) hypotheses were supported by the data obtained. The data
obtained from the questionnaires administered did not provide support for four
hypotheses issued, so for them null hypotheses were not rejected:
Hypothesis 5: Mutual trust positively affects mutual monitoring of
performance.
Hypothesis 6: Leadership positively affects mutual monitoring of
performance.
Hypothesis 7: Leadership positively influences the support behavior.
Hypothesis 19: Leadership positively influences the orientation of the special
military micro-group.
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5. CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of this study was to determine how the variables of the military
micro-groups included in this research interacted with each other and influenced
the efficiency of the analyzed microstructures analysis. In general, the findings lead
to several conclusions.
Firstly, the activities of the micro-military groups are defined by the
interaction of the following dimensions: leadership, military micro-group
orientation, mutual performance monitoring, behavior support, adaptability, mutual
trust, shared mental models and communication between the micro-group
members. This interaction is captured by the 15 relationships between these
dimensions specific to the activities of the military micro-groups.
Secondly, it can be concluded that the core of the theoretical model is built on
four sets of relationships. The strongest and most consistent ways have a sense
starting from the variable “orientation team” (1) to the variable, “support behavior”
(2) and from this, to the variable, “adaptability”.
Moreover, the impact of the support behavior variable (3) and adaptability (4)
on the effectiveness of the special military micro-group is consistent. This part of
the model is totally supported by the Salas model (2005).
Thirdly, the mutual monitoring of performance is strongly affected by the
orientation of the military micro-groups and moderately affected by the shared
mental models and communication.
This means that the mutual monitoring of performance results from the belief
in the primacy of the objectives of the military micro-group, as well as from the
organized knowledge structure and the adequate information sharing within the
military micro-group. These relationships underline that it is important that these
types of micro-groups have a common understanding of the monitoring activity.
Although Salas (2005) considered mutual trust to be an important premise for the
mutual monitoring of performance to occur, there is no effect resulting from this
research between the mutual trust and the mutual monitoring of performance. It
also resulted that the military micro-group leader does not have any role in the
micro-groups monitoring process.
Although the mutual monitoring of performance is affected by a series of
variables, this variable has a modest effect on the military micro-group
effectiveness, due to the modest link existing between the mutual monitoring of
performance and the support behavior.
Responsible for this fact are the following reasons:
The military micro-groups members can reciprocally monitor their
performance to a large extent, but one cannot draw the conclusion that this activity
is important or necessary for the mutual support. More monitoring does not have to
lead to the conclusion that more help is needed. However, when there is need for
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help, the military micro-group members tend to help each other. This action is the
direct result of an efficient orientation process within micro-groups.
Fourthly, mutual trust has a weak to moderate influence on the support
behavior. This opinion is in accordance with Porter et all. (2003) who found out
that, in order to offer help to a comrade, it is necessary for this help to be
legitimate, which means that first, an implicit or explicit request for help need to be
formulated. When the members of the military micro-groups will get to believe that
each comrade will accomplish his mission and will spare no efforts, that they can
trust their knowledge and abilities, then they will be more willing to offer support
if necessary. It is also interesting the strong effect of mutual trust upon the
leadership behaviors. Therefore in a climate of mutual trust, the actions of the
military micro-group leader seem to be more effective.
Fifthly, according to this study, leadership seems to have little effect on the
efficient functioning of the military micro-group. Among the four hypotheses only
one seems to be significant. The moderate impact of the leadership behaviors on
the common mental models indicates the fact that the leader (the group
commander) plays an important role important in updating the knowledge shared
by the members regarding their roles and the manner in which the tasks are
distributed within the military micro-group. On the other hand, one can notice a
moderate effect of leadership on the adaptability within the micro-group as well as
on the missions to be completed.
Leadership does not have significant effects as far as mutual monitoring of
performance, support behavior and orientation are concerned. The reduced impact
of leadership upon adaptability can be explained by the existence, within each
micro-group, of a deputy commander and by the practice to delegate leadership to
some teams resulted from the micro-group division (which has a number of 10
members), to accomplish some specific tasks. Among them, informal leaders may
emerge. Informal leaders may be responsible for the reduce impact of leadership
noticed through this study. They lead to leaders’ behaviors becoming useless or
redundant (Yukl, 2006; Zaccaro & Klimoski, 2002).
Among the substitutes who lead to leaders’ behaviors becoming useless or
redundant are the following: the presence of some experienced, well-trained
members in the military micro-group, clear roles, effective performance strategies
adopted by all micro-group members, support behavior and cohesion between the
military micro-group members.
For example, when the military micro-group members know their profession
in detail, have team-work abilities, and all these are focused on accomplishing the
group missions and objectives less direct leader implication is needed.
Shared or distributed leadership of micro-groups assumes that leadership
positions can be exerted collectively. This is a dynamic, interactive process, of
reciprocal influence between the military micro-group members, who lead and
14
support each other in pursuing the military micro-group objectives (Avolio,
Sivasubramaniam, Murry, Jung, si Garger, 2003).
In accordance with this dimensions any member of a military micro-group
can show initiative, offering guidance and suggestions to the other members and
formulating clear and appropriate priorities.
Emergence of "initiative within the military micro-groups", suggests that
aspects such as data sharing, feedback, offering guidance and help to each other are
expressions of common leadership, leading to formal top to bottom leadership
becoming more or less redundant. Although we were not expecting this at the
beginning of the study, we found that the military micro-group leadership has a
moderate effect on adaptability. It seems that, when the micro-group needs to adapt
to some changing internal or external circumstances, the leader is the one who
activates this through his behavior, establishing new objectives, assigning new
tasks and confirms or establishes norms and rules of conduct.
Therefore, when the micro-group functions well, as expected, the leadership
behaviors specific to the leader are dimmed” and leadership attributions will be
divided between the micro-group members. Top-to-bottom leadership behaviors
are stronger whenever the micro-groups need to adapt to new and dangerous
situations, due to changing circumstances.
Eventually, the correlations between the inexplicable variations of the
variables ,,support behavior” and ,,adaptability”, as well as between the
inexplicable variations of the variables ,,cohesion” and ,,respect” should be added
to the theoretical model in order to more appropriately matching it to the data
resulted fro the questionnaires. A correspondence between the inexplicable
variances of two variables could indicate the fact that the respective variables have
at least one common cause that has been omitted.
As we have mentioned, the micro-groups we studied had interdependent
activities and results. However, the micro-groups’ characteristics and results can
vary because the members have different knowledge and abilities both from the
point of view of diversity and disparity. Therefore, within some micro-groups, not
only a common knowledge background is necessary but also different
specialisations, so that the mutual support can be complete.
The different qualification and specialization of each member of the military
micro-group, can improve the variety premises, and, with this one, adaptability.
This suggests the fact that a measurement of the differences regarding the
qualification and specialization – and the opposite – as well as the assessment of
competences generalization should be added to the model. In this study, we did not
include a questionnaire that could be able to provide us with information regarding
the differences of qualification and specialization and the competences’
homogeneity degree.
We have previously mentioned that the military micro-groups can function
under difficult circumstances. In addition, the military micro-groups members act
15
and live together intensely, for months. They can be like a family in which
members talk to each other about missions and usual things, take care of each
other, and support each other, especially in critical situations that can endanger
their lives.
Due to the fact that they are very careful with and support each other, the
feeling of being a member of the military micro-group and of being respected can
be enhanced, and, this way, social relationships can be strengthened. Therefore,
these aspects suggest the fact that consideration and team support can be
considered omitted causes in the theoretical model of the study.
In conclusion, this study was meant to investigate the interaction between the
group processes as well as the way in which they influence the efficiency of the
military micro-group. These variables were analyzed through a field research,
using military micro-groups. Despite some deficiencies of this study, the empirical
support provided us with evidence regarding the validity of the hypotheses we had
formulated. However, the relationships between more work variables within the
military micro-groups need further investigations, for example, the relations within
the model that were not significant as well as the relationships that were added to
the model. Therefore, more research is needed. The results of this study need
replication, especially in different military contexts, with different samples of
subjects and with a large variety of micro-groups before drawing final conclusions
regarding the relationships between the variables of the military micro-groups used
in the model.
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6. REFERENCES
17
SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INTROVERT AND
EXTROVERT PEOPLE’S SIMPLE REACTION TIME IN
CONFLICT SITUATIONS
Abstract
This study investigated the simple reaction time and the reaction time during a
conflict of introverted and extroverted persons, looking to prove that there are significant
differences in terms of reaction time between these two categories of people. 60 people of
which 30 extroverted and 30 introverted completed the International Personality Item Pool
test extraversion scale and were tested at the Complex Senzo-motorial Tester (CST-2). The
conflict situation was created with red and green color stimuli. The research findings are
also supported by previous researches which show that there are significant differences
between introverts and extroverts regarding simple reaction time, and reaction time to a
conflict to the color red and green, with a significantly higher reaction time for introverts
than extraverts, but with significantly fewer mistakes. On the other hand, extraverts
responded better to external stimuli, but are more likely to make mistakes in extreme
situations, situations that can be created by themselves.
1. INTRODUCTION
Corresponding author:Vlad Burtăverde
18
inferences can be made in what concerns those people’s psychomotor skills,
decision-making ability, assertiveness and cognitive processes.
Therefore, psychological research is important to study individual differences
in reaction time and its relation with other variables. Reaction time has been
studied many times in relation to personality (Hagger-Johnson, Shickle, Roberts, &
Deary, 2012; Carlozzi et al., 2010) to determine the nature of the relationship
between these two concepts.
Personality is a dynamic organization within the individual of those
psychophysical systems that determine a unique adjustment to its environment
(Barrick & Ryan, 2003). Personality traits are conceptualized as stable
characteristics different for each person explaining individual predispositions to
certain patterns of behavior, cognitions and emotions (Hogan, Hogan, & Roberts,
1996 cit. in Bidjerano & Yun Dai, 2006).
Raymond Cattell used traits to predict behavior. He defines personality "that
fact that it allows a prediction of what a person will do in a given situation" and
later in defining personality traits: "what a person will do when faced with a
defined situation" (Cattell , 1979, cit. in Cloninger, 2009).
Big Five is a hierarchical model based on personality traits. Personality traits
are often defined as long-term dimensions of individual differences in tendencies
toward other patterns of thoughts, feelings and actions (McRae & Costa, 1990 cit.
in Costa & Widiger, 2002). The five personality traits include neuroticism (N),
extraversion (E), Conscientiousness (C), Agreeableness (A) and Openness to
experience. Of the five dimensions we use only extraversion in the present study.
Extraversion refers to the quantity and intensity of interpersonal interaction, the
preferred level of stimulation needed to stimulate the desire to feel happy. People
with high scores on extraversion tend to be sociable, active, talkative, upbeat, fun
and affectionate, whilst introverted people tend to be more reserved, sober, distant,
independent, and quiet (Costa & Widiger, 2002). Extraversion describe active,
sociable and assertive people, people willing to communicate (McCabe & Fleeson,
2012).
The concept of extraversion is part of many theories. Starting from Eysenck's
theory (1967) we can say that introverts have a higher level of excitation than
extraverts. Furthermore Gray (1967 cit. in Gupta & Nicholson, 1985) proposed that
introverts have weaker nervous systems than extraverts.
Donders made one of the first experiments with reaction time starting from
simple experiments timing the period between when the light appears until the
subject presses the button. Although the experiment was relatively simple, he
discovered the importance of reaction time in psychology. Donders concluded that
reaction time "of choice" in situations of conflict must include two steps: choosing
discrimination between stimuli and response. With time Wundt and Donders
concluded that reaction time is longer when there are more possible events
meaning more stimuli (Mook, 2009)
19
Brebner & Cooper (1974) said in a 1974 study that extraverts make more
mistakes than introverts regarding reaction time, the explanation being that
extraverts can generate an inhibitory response to continuous response task, or that
the level of excitability is higher than in the case of introverts. In another study,
Casal, Caballo, Cueto & Cubos (1990) show that there is no significant difference
in reaction time between introvert and extrovert, the relationship being moderate.
Anitei,Chraif, Schuhfried and Sommer (2011) show that reaction time has an
important role when it comes to extreme situations in traffic and subject
involvement in critical moments decisions.
2. METHODOLOGY
2.2. HYPOTHESIS
1. People with high scores on the extraversion factor are expected to have a
simple reaction time and less conflict situation, but more simple mistakes in red
and green colors.
2. Persons with low scores on the extraversion factor are expected to have a
simple reaction time and higher conflict situation, but fewer simple errors in red
and green colors
2.3. PARTICIPANTS
In this research 60 people took part (30 introverts, M = 20.1 years old, SD =
2.91 and 30 extroverts, M = 20.78, SD = 4.97), students of first year at the Faculty
of Psychology and Educational Sciences.
2.4. INSTRUMENTS
We applied the Goldberg Big Five Markers Questionnaire, the short form of
the NEO-PI Personality Questionnaire-R, by Costa & McRae. Big Five Markers
consists of 50 items assessing five facets of personality: neuroticism, Extraversion,
Agreeableness, Openness to experience, Conscientiousness.
20
The five personality factors were assessed with the IPIP questionnaire
consisting of 50 items (Goldberg, 1999). Each factor contains 10 items, each with 5
response options (1 = does not characterize me at all, 5 = always characterizes me).
The first factor, emotional stability consists of items that measure changes in mood
states (eg, always relaxed, angry quite often) and has a Cronbach Alpha coefficient
of .86.
The second factor is extraversion composed of items that assess the degree of
sociability and energy level of activities, with an internal consistency of .87. The
third factor is openness to experience and measure the degree to which people are
interested in new things, abstract ideas and values (eg. I have a rich vocabulary, it
is hard to understand abstract things) and has an internal consistency of .84.
The next factor is agreeability and it measures the extent to which anyone is
interested in other people, empathetic, attentive to the needs and feelings of others
(eg. Interested in people, sometimes offensive towards others) with a Cronbach
Alpha coefficient of .82. The last factor is conscientiousness, which measures the
degree to which people are organized, follow the rules (always prepare carefully,
leave things scattered) and has an internal consistency of .79.
Complex Senzomotorial Tester (CST-2) apparatus with microprocessor
control unit is a modern design that can be used to test simple reaction time (TR),
choice, and complex decision (selection), as well as accuracy and rapidity and
coordinate perceptual capabilities (auditory and visual) and response (hand and
foot) and for testing simulated conflict situations. The Complex Sensomotorial
tester can be used especially in the testing (on different levels) of drivers. With it
we can investigate psychosocial characteristics of individual behavior in conflict
situations that require decision-making components of personality.
21
2.5. PROCEDURE
All participants in the study were informed in advance about the nature of
testing and research. Those who agreed were tested and completed the Big Five
Markers personality-extraversion scale questionnaire. Before completing the
questionnaires, participants were informed about how to use the device, and they
were asked to complete the test as honestly as possible. Testing was carried out in
the experimental laboratory of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational
Sciences, University of Bucharest. The data collection process did not require the
name of attendees.
In this study extraversion and introversion are independent variables and the
dependent variables are the color red reaction time, reaction time to green, errors to
red, mistakes in green.
3. RESULTS
Pairs 2 and 3 refers to the color conflict test in red and green, and here we see
significant differences between introverts and extroverts, two pair had a shorter
reaction time than introverts (t (60) = -6.75, p <.000), and pair three introverts had
a better time than extroverts (t (60) = -5.4, p <.000).
Table 2. Means ,standard deviations and T test value for conflict reaction time
Extraverts Introverts T
Variable M SD M SD
Total testing time 112.93 (11.96) 138.96 (13.18) -8.69**
Reaction time red 8.24 (4.19) 10.06 (4.35) -6.75**
Reaction time green 11.93 (3.92) 14.00 (3.56) -5.43**
Red errors 2.93 (1.36)` 0.56 (0.93) 7.48**
Green errors 3.00 (1.64) 1.36 (1.18) 4.94**
Singular errors 3.53 (1.69) 1.66 (1.15) 6.10**
Total errors 8.00 (6.76) 4.66 (3.66) 4.78**
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On pairs 4 and 5 we can say that there are significant differences in both pairs
extraverts having significantly more mistakes than introverts, pair 4 (t = 7.48, p
<.001) and pair 5 (t = 4.94, p <.001). In pair 6 a statistically significant difference
can be observed, allowing us to say that extraverts have committed several
mistakes in simple testing than introverts (t = 6.10, p <.001) and for pair 7 we can
say that extraverts have more total errors than introverts (t (60) = 4.78, p <.001).
4. CONCLUSION
23
are due to other stimuli and not to their mistakes. On the other hand, extraverts
responded better to external stimuli, but are more likely to make mistakes in
extreme situations, situations that can be created by themselves.
5. REFERENCES
Aniţei, M., Chraif, M., Schuhfried, G., & Sommer, M. (2011). The validation of Expert
System Traffic psychological assessment to Romanian Driving Schools. Procedia- Social
and Behaviour Sciences, 30, 457-464.
Barrick, R. M., & Ryan, A. M. (2003). Personality and Work: Reconsidering the Role
of Personality in Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Bidjerano, T., & Yun Dai, D. (2007). The relationship between the big-five model
of personality and self-regulated learning strategies. Learning and Individual
Differences, 17, 69-81.
Brebner, J., & Cooper, C. (1974). The effect of a low rate of regular signals upon the
reaction times of introverts and extraverts. Journal of Research in Personality, 8, 263-276.
Casal, G. B., Caballo, V. E., Cueto, E. G., & Cubos, F. P. (1990). Attention and reaction
time differences in introversion-extraversion. Personality and Individual Differences, 11,
195-197.
Cloninger, S. (2009). Conceptual issues in personality theory. The Cambridge
Handbook of Personality Psychology (3-26). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Carlozzi, N. E., Horner, D. M., Kose, S., Yamanaka, K., Mishory, A., Mu, Q., Nahas,
Z., Wells, S. A., & George, M. S. (2010). Personality and Reaction time after sleep
deprivation. Current Psychology, 29, 24-33.
Costa, P. T., & Widiger, A. T. (2002). Personality Disorders and the five- factor
model of personality. Washington: American Psychological Association.
Gupta, S., & Nicholson, J. (1985). Simple visual reaction time, personality and strength
of the nervous system: A signal detection theory approach. Personality and Individual
Differences, 6, 461-469;
Hagger-Jognspn. G. E., Shickle, D. A., Roberts, B. A., & Deary, I. J. (2012).
Neuroticism combined with slower and more variable reaction time: synergistic risk factors
for 7 year cognitive decline in females. The Journals of Gerntology, Series B, 65(5), 572-
581.
McCabe, K. O., & Fleeson, W. (2012). What is Extraversion For? Integrating Trait and
Motivational Perspectives and Identifying the Purpose of Extraversion. Psychological
Science, 23, 1498-1505.
Mook, D. (2009). Experimente clasice în psihologie. Bucureşti: Trei.
REZUMAT
Acest studiu investighează timpul simplu de reacție pe durata unei situații conflictuale la nivelul introverților și
extraverților pentru a evidenția diferențele semnificative dintre aceștia. 60 de persoane, 30 extraverți și 30
introverți, au completat un inventar de extraversie bazat preluat din baza de item International Personality Item
Pool și au fost testați cu ajutorul Testului Complex Senzomotorial (CST-2). Rezultatele, susținute de studii
anterioare, arată diferențe semnificative între introverți și extraverți în ceea ce privește timpul simplu de reacție,
dar și timpul de reacție pentru conflictul dintre culoarea roșie și cea verde, introverți înregistrând timpi de reacție
semnificativ mai mici, dar și mai puține greșeli.
24
SALARIZATION SYSTEM, AGE AND WORK EXPERIENCE AS
PREDICTORS OF PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH DURING
PRESENT ECONOMIC CRISIS
Abstract
The present study focuses on salarization system, age, work experience and gender as
potential predictors of self-reported physical and mental health of participants. The paper
in included in the much larger topic of work related stress in the context of actual economic
crisis. The participants in the study were 34 teachers from a Romanian high school in the
town of Alexandria with ages between 24 and 58, who responded to a set of questionnaires
measuring stress in the work place and physical and mental health in the work place. The
results show a non-significant correlation between physical health and work experience.
Significant positive correlations were found between work experience and age, and
participants gender seems to influence physical health. Although the small number of
participants does not allow generalization of the results, the identified relations seems to be
relevant in the specific context of the investigated organization.
1. INTRODUCERE
Corresponding author:
Anca Mihaela Păsălău
25
în ceea ce priveşte identificarea angajaţilor care prezintă un risc crescut de a
dezvoltă diverse boli relaţionate cu stresul la locul de muncă (Grant & Langan-Fox,
2007).
Prin urmare, cunoșterea și înțelegerea, pe de-o parte, și prevenirea si
combaterea acțiunii factorilor asociați stresului ocupațional academic, pe de alta,
constituie probleme importante de cercetare în domeniul psiho-pedagogic.
Preocuparea pentru această problematică se explică, în primul rând, prin faptul că
nivelul de stres este un indicator al sănătătii institutiei de invatamant, al eficacitătii
si eficientei acesteia. În al doilea rând, multitudinea de studii consacrate acestei
teme, reflectă nevoia specialistilor de a identifica si caracteriza factorii ce
contribuie la generarea unor niveluri ridicate de stres ocupațional și de a interveni
eficient asupra acestora în direcția îmbunătățirii condițiilor de muncă și, prin
aceasta, în directia valorificării si valorizării optime a competențelor cadrelor
didactice. În al treilea rând, interesul pentru această problematică se explică și prin
extinderea numărului celor care părăsesc această profesie, sau, dimpotrivă,
scăderea dramatică a interesului celor mai bine pregătiți absolventi pentru a-și
construi o carieră în acest domeniu. Literatura de specialitate apărută în limba
română este generoasă în lucrări pe problematica stresului. În unele întâlnim
tratarea mai generală a stresului, fără a se pierde din vedere stresul organizaţional
(Floru, 1974; Derevenco, Anghel, & Băban, 1992; Miclea, 1997; Băban, 1998;
Iamandescu, 2002), iar în altele întâlnim abordarea în particular a stresului
ocupaţional (Brate, 2004, 2005; Pitariu, 2003). În ultima perioadă s-au înregistrat o
serie de modificări legate de profesia didactică și statutul cadrului didactic în
societate, modificări ce au implicații importante asupra exercitării acestei profesii.
Esteve (1989) a identificat cinci schimbări majore la nivelul societății, schimbări ce
au impus o serie de presiuni asupra cadrelor didactice, creând, în consecință, rațiuni
ce justifică interesul tot mai crescut pentru studiul fenomenului stresului în acest
domeniu:
• transformarea rolului tradițional al profesorului ca simplu agent de
integrare socială a tinerei generații – solicitările presupuse de statutul de cadru
didactic s-au schimbat în sensul accentuării ipostazei acestuia legată de cercetarea
științifică, producția de cunoaștere; astfel, profesorii se găsesc în fața unei dileme
referitoare la distribuirea echilibrată și echitabilă a resurselor de timp și energie de
care dispun în directia activității didactice, de instruire, pe de-o arte și în direcția
cercetării științifice pe de alta. În plus, schimbările legate de elaborarea de proiecte
de cercetare si nu numai, nu au fost însotite întotdeauna în mod necesar si adecvat
de activităti de pregătire și perfecționare a cadrelor didactice pentru a le abilita să
facă față noilor cerințe. Pe de altă parte, familia și comunitatea acceptă din ce în ce
mai puțină responsabilitate în ceea ce privește formarea tinerei generații,
transferând aproape integral acest rol școlii și profesorului și având asteptări pe
măsură de la aceștia;
26
• sporirea contradictiilor referitoare la rolul profesorului – din acest punct de
vedere, poate cel mai contradictoriu rol al profesorului este acela de formator al
unor tineri pentru integrarea într-o societate mereu în schimbare, pentru o societate
care încă nu există, fapt ce solicită responsabilități și competente diverse cadrului
didactic;
• schimbarea atitudinii societății în general față de profesori – nu de puține
ori școala și profesorii sunt blamați de politicieni, media și de părinți pentru o
varietate foarte mare de deficiențe de la nivelul societății. Un exemplu îl constituie
schimbarea atitudinii societății față de disciplina în școli, lăsând de cele mai multe
ori profesorii fără mijloacele si suportul necesare pentru a gestiona această situație;
• îndoiala cu privire la obiectivele sistemului de educație și producția de
cunoaștere – calificarea oferită astăzi de universitate nu mai garantează și inserția
tânărului absolvent pe piata muncii. De aici apar o serie de probleme legate de
motivarea studenților puși în fața unor experiențe de învățare sau obiective
educaționale ce nu mai corespund circumstanțelor actuale ale societății;
• deteriorarea imaginii cadrului didactic – adesea această deteriorare este
produsă de asocierea cadrului didactic cu stereotipurile livrate de media în legătură
cu această profesie: violența fizică și verbală a profesorilor din clasă, salarii foarte
mici, lipsa dotărilor si a materialelor din scoli, lipsa de atractivitate financiară a
acestui domeniu profesional pentru cei mai buni dintre absolventi, etc.
2. OBIECTIVE ȘI IPOTEZE
2.1. OBIECTIVE
2.2. IPOTEZE
3. METODA
3.1. PARTICIPANŢI
27
completat chestionarele „Stresul la locul de muncă în actualul context economic”,
„Sănătatea fizică și psihică la locul de muncă”. Subiecţii, femei (21) şi bărbaţi (13),
au avut vârste cuprinse între 24 şi 58 de ani (m = 36.55, s = 10.98 ani).
3.2. INSTRUMENTE
4. REZULTATE
28
La o primă analiză a itemilor de la dimensiunea 2 („sănătatea fizică”) s-a
observat că trei itemi au corelaţie negativă cu scorul global şi anume itemii 02 (r =
-.022), 04 (r = -.039) şi 06 (r = -.270). Cu alte cuvinte, aceşti itemi nu aduc
informaţie utilă în raport cu atributul măsurat, ci merg într-o altă direcţie decât
acesta. S-a observat că valoarea lui Cronbach ά este de 0.633, o valoarea modestă
în raport cu nivelul minim necesar (0.70). Această valoare a fost crescută prin
eliminarea itemilor 02, 04 şi 06, care corelează negativ cu scorul global. Astfel,
valoarea lui Cronbach ά a crescut la 0.782, o valoare bună în raport cu nivelul
minim necesar (0.70).
Pentru itemii rămaşi în chestionar s-a calculat din nou coeficientul Alpha
Cronbach şi a rezultat următoarea valoare: 0.845 care este o valoare foarte bună
pentru consistenţa internă a acestui chestionar.
Testarea ipotezelor a avut loc prin aplicarea modelului de regresie între
criteriul sănătate psihică și variabilele: sistem de salarizare, experiența în muncă,
vârsta și sexul participanților.
Tabel 1. Matricea de corelaţie inter-itemi
Total
sanatate Sistemul de Experienta in Varsta
psihica salarizare munca participantilor
Sistemul de salarizare -.078 -
Experienta in munca -.202* -.227 -
Varsta participantilor -.130 -.035 .846** -
p<0.05*; p<0.01**
Din tabelul 2 reiese faptul că acest model de regresie exprimă 7.8% din
varianţă. Datorită R², eroarea s-a diminuat cu 7.8%, ceea ce indică faptul că unii
29
factori din model au relevanţă pentru acesta. Folosind variabilele sistem de
salarizare, experiența în muncă, vârsta și sexul participanților împreună pentru a
prezice criteriul sănătate psihică, rezultatele prevăd o scădere de 7.8% în eroarea
predicţiei, referitoare la utilizarea exclusivă a modelului de predicţie.
Tabel 3. Valorile coeficienţilor βstandardizaţi şi probabilitatea de semnificaţie statistică pentru modelul de regresie
Standardized
Unstandardized Coefficients Coefficients
Model B Std. Error Beta t Sig.
1 (Constant) 27.425 3.327 8.244 .000
Varsta participantilor .107 .122 .211 .876 .384
Sexul participantilor .853 1.233 .089 .692 .492
Experienta in munca -.254 .139 -.445 -1.819 .074
Sistemul de salarizare -1.589 1.226 -.169 -1.296 .200
a. Variabilă dependentă: sanatatea psihica
30
Tabel 4. Matricea de corelaţie inter-item
p<0.05*; p<0.01**
Din tabelul 5 reiese faptul că acest model de regresie exprimă 10.9% din
varianţă. Datorită R², eroarea s-a diminuat cu 10.9%, ceea ce indică faptul că unii
factori din model au relevanţă pentru acesta. Folosind variabilele sistem de
salarizare, experienta in munca, varsta si sexul participantilor împreună pentru a
prezice criteriulsanatate fizica, rezultatele prevăd o scădere de 10.9% în eroarea
predicţiei, referitoare la utilizarea exclusivă a modelului de predicţie.
31
Tabelul 6. ANOVA
Unstandardized Standardized
Coefficients Coefficients
Model B Std. Error Beta t Sig.
1 (Constant) 18.218 3.379 5.391 .000
Varsta participantilor -.114 .124 -.217 -.914 .364
Sexul participantilor 3.360 1.252 .338 2.684 .009
experienta in munca .088 .142 .148 .618 .539
Sistemul de salarizare .558 1.245 .057 .448 .655
a. Variabilă dependentă: Total sanatate fizica
.
Figura 2. Graficul scatterplot al valorilor reziduale şi al valorilor prezise standardizate
32
In figura 2 se observă graficul de tip scatter plot care confirmă rezultatele din
tabelele 6 şi 7 conform cărora variabilele independente nu au valoare predictivă
pentru variabila criteriu total sănătate fizică.
5. CONCLUZII
33
REFERINȚE BIBLIOGRAFICE
Aniţei, M., & Chraif, M. (2010). Metoda interviului in psihologia muncii. București:
Universitara.
Baban, A. (1988). Stres si personalitate. Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitara Clujeana.
Derevenco, P., Anghel, I., & Băban, A. (1992). Stresul în sănătate şi boală. De la
teorie la practică. Cluj-Napoca: Dacia.
Esteve, J. M. (1989). Training teachers to tackle stress, in: M. Cole & S. Walker (Eds)
Teaching and Stress. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Floru, R. (1974). Stresul psihic. Bucureşti: Editura Enciclopedica Romana.
Grant, S. & Langan-Fox, J. (2007). Personality and the Occupational Stressor-Strain
Relationship: The Role of the Big Five. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12,
20-33.
Iamandescu, I. B. (2002). Stresul psihic: din perspectivă psihologică şi psihosomatică.
Bucureşti: Editura Infomedica.
Miclea, M. (1997). Stres si apărare psihică. Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitara Clujeana.
REZUMAT
Cercetarea de faţă este focusată pe evidentierea posibilitătii ca variabilele: sistemul de salarizare, varsta
participantilor, experienta in munca si sexul participantilor sunt predictor ai sănătăţii fizice şi psihice
autopercepute ale angajaţilor.Metoda: participanţii sunt număr de 34 de cadre didactice din cadrul „Liceului
Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, din Alexandria, femei (21) şi bărbaţi (13), au avut vârste cuprinse între 24 şi 58 de ani (m
= 36.55, s = 10.98 ani). Instrumente: chestionarele „Stresul la locul de munca in actalul context economic”,
„Sanatatea fizica si psihica la locul de munca”. Rezultate: intre criteriul sanatate psihica si variabila experienta
in munca exista o corelatie mică nesemnificativă statistic (r =- 0.202, p>0.05). Pentru un număr de subiecţi de 34
(în cazul de faţă), acest coeficient este prea mic pentru a fi luat în considerare. Mai mult decât atât, există
corelaţii pozitive şi semnificative statistic intre criteriul sanatate fizica si sexul participantilor (r = 0.309; p <
0.05), între variabilele experienta in munca şi varsta participantilor (r = 0.846; p < 0.01) şi între variabilele
experienta in munca şi sexul participantilor (r = 0.294; p < 0.05).
34
CORRELATION STUDY ON PERCEIVED EMOTIONS AND
COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE IN A ROMANIAN
TOURISM AGENCY
Abstract
The paper focuses on perception of negative and positive emotion in the work place
and the relation of emotions with communication in a Romanian tourism agency. The
participants were 26 employees, with ages between 23 and 48 years old, all working in
urban areas and being full-time employees and with no perspective of turnover. The two
used questionnaires were Emotion in the work place adapted after Levine and Xu (2005)
which comprises of five positive and five negative emotions, and the Communication in the
work place scale (Danciu, 2011), a Likert scale with 32 items in 6 steps. The results show
significant correlations between several of the investigated dimensions, such as: general
communication and top-down communication, between general communication and
positive emotions, positive emotions and top-down communication, emotions measured as
state and top-down communication. All identified relations sustain the idea that the human
resources management should work on developing the bottom-up and top-down
communication in organization in order to influence the nature of emotions experienced at
work and to increase job performances of employees.
Autor corespondent:
Email: mihaela.chraif@fpse.unibuc.ro.
35
1. INTRODUCERE
Frese & Zapf (1994) subliniază că activitatea de muncă constă într-o secvenţă
de paşi orientaţi spre o structură ierarhică piramidală de scopuri şi subscopuri în
conformitate cu teoria acţiunii. Hacker (1998) citata de Zapf (2002) consideră că
există trei nivele de reglare ale acţiunii: a)nivelul intelectual de reglare a acţiunii;
b)nivelul pattern-urilor de acţiune flexibile; c) nivelul senzoriomotor de reglare a
acţiunii. Scherer (1987) evidenţiază trei modele ale teoriei dinamice asupra
emoţiilor: modelul procesării componentelor; teoria secvenţială a diferenţierilor
emoţionale şi teoria pattern-urilor componenţiale.
Morris & Feldman (1997) au evidenţiat frecventa afişării emoţiilor pozitive şi
negative. Beyer şi Niño (2001), Fineman (2001), Lazarus şi Cohen-Charash (2001)
s-au ocupat de studiul emoţiilor pozitive şi negative în organizaţii. Lazarus şi
Cohen-Charash (2001) au fost interesaţi să aborddeze emoţiile în organizaţii
centrate pe afectivitatea cu dominanţă pozitivă sau negativă. Având în vedere
emoţiile negative, aceeaşi autori consideră că frica şi furia sunt emoţii negative
care declanşează apărarea în prezenta unui pericol, sau a unui obstacol în calea
finalizării obiectivelor propuse la locul de muncă. Emoţiile pozitive, prin starea de
dispoziţie pozitivă au un efect pozitiv la locul de muncă, în comunicarea cu colegii,
superiorii sau subordonaţii.
2. OBIECTIVE ŞI IPOTEZE
2.1. OBIECTIVE
2.2. IPOTEZE
36
Există o corelaţie semnificativă statistic între emoţiile negative şi comunicarea
cu clienţii.
Există o corelaţie semnificativă statistic între emoţiile pozitive şi comunicarea
în echipă.
Există o corelaţie semnificativă statistic între emoţiile pozitive şi comunicarea
ascendentă.
Există o corelaţie semnificativă statistic între emoţiile pozitive şi comunicarea
în descendentă.
Există o corelaţie semnificativă statistic între emoţiile pozitive şi comunicarea
generală.
3. METODA
3.1. PARTICIPANŢI
3.2. INSTRUMENTE
37
3.3. PROCEDURĂ
4. REZULTATE
38
Tabelul 1 – Testul Kolmogorov-Smirnov pentru variabilele: mândrie generală, tristeţe generelă şi tristeţe recentă
Tabelul 2 – Testul Kolmogorov-Smirnov pentru variabilele: mândrie generală, tristeţe generelă şi tristeţe recentă
Tabelul 3– Testul Kolmogorov-Smirnov pentru variabilele: mândrie generală, tristeţe generelă şi tristeţe recentă
Comunic
Comunic Comunicare are
are Echipă Ascendentă Descendentă
N 26 26 26
Normal Parametersa,b Media 37.62 36.38 34.54
Ab.Std. 4.243 4.109 6.730
Most Extreme Differences Absolute .166 .142 .101
Positive .074 .142 .076
Negative -.166 -.080 -.101
Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z .848 .725 .514
p .468 .669 .955
39
Comunicare echipă, Comunicare Ascendentă şi Comunicare Descendentă (p>0.05).
În urma verificării condiţiei de normalitate a distribuţiei s-a observat că în proporţie
de 83.4% variabilele prezintă o distribuţie normală. Singurele variabile care nu
prezintă o distribuţie normală sunt dimensiunile: anxietatea generelă, invidia
recentă, invidia generelă, vina/ruşinea recentă, vina/ruşinea generală şi
comunicarea cu clienţii.
40
Table 5. Matricea de corelaţie între variabilele: comunicare generală, comunicare echipă, comunicare ascendentă,
comunicare descendentă, comunicare clienţi, emoţii pozitive stare, emoţii pozitive generale, emoţii negative stare
şi emoţii negative trăsătură.
Variable 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
1. Comunicare -
generală
2. Comunicare 0.25 -
echipă
3. Comunicare -0.11 0.12 -
ascendentă
4. Comunicare 0.52** 0.15 0.02 -
descendentă
5. Comunicare 0.35 0.09 -0.02 0.14 -
clienţi
6. Emoţii pozitive 0.48* 0.21 -0.24 0.46* 0.23 -
stare
7. Emoţii pozitive 0.50** 0.37 -0.08 0.50** 0.21 0.90** -
generale
8. Emoţii -0.04 -0.21 -0.30 -0.44* -0.32 -0.04 -0.14 -
negative stare
9. Emoţii -0.15 0.01 0.28 -0.41* -0.29 -0.03 -0.13 0.60**
negative trăsătură
*p < .05, **p < .01
41
5. CONCLUSIONS
42
6. REFERENCES
Beyer, J.M., & Niño, D. (2001). Culture as a source, expression, and reinforcer of
emotions in organizations. In Payne, R.L. şi Cooper, C.L. (Eds.), Emotion at Work: Theory,
Research, and Applications for Management. West Sussex: Wiley & Sons.
Fineman, S. (2001). Emotions and organizational control. In Payne, R.L. şi Cooper,
C.L. (Eds.), Emotion at Work: Theory, Research, and Applications for Management. West
Sussex: Wiley & Sons.
Frese, M. & Zapf, D. (1994). Action as the core of work psychology: A German
approach. In H.C. Triandis, M. D. Dunnette, and L.M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook on
Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 4. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Press.
Hacker, W. (1985). Activity: A fruitful concept in industrial psychology. In: M. Frese
& J. Sabini (Eds.), Goal directed behavior: The concept of action in psychology. Hillsdale,
NJ: Erlbaum.
Lazarus, R.S., & Cohen-Charash, Y. (2001). Discrete emotions in organizational life. In
Payne, R.L. şi Cooper, C.L. (Eds.), Emotion at Work: Theory, Research, and Applications
for Management. West Sussex: Wiley & Sons.
Levine, E.L. & Xu, X, (2005). Development and validation of the State-Trait Emotion
Measure (STEM). Paper presented at the 20th Annual Conference of the Society for
Industrial and Organizational Psychology, April.
Morris, J.A. & Feldman, D.C. (1997). Managing emotions in the workplace. Journal of
Managerial Issues, 9 (3), 257-275.
Pitariu, H, Levine, E.L. Muşat, S. & Ispas, D. (2006). Validarea chestionarului de
măsurare a emoţiilor ca stare şi trăsătură (mest-ro) la baschetbaliste. Revista romana de
psihologie organizationala, 4(2), 16-26.
Scherer, K. R. (1987). Toward a dynamic theory of emotion: The component process
model of affective states. Geneva Studies in Emotion and Communication, 1, 1-98.
Zapf, D. (2002). Emotion work and psychological strain. A review of the literature and
some conceptual considerations. Human Resource Management Review, 12, 237-268.
REZUMAT
Cercetarea de faţă este focusată pe evidentierea percepţiei emoţiilor negative şi pozitive la locul de muncă şi
evidenţierea posibilelor corelaţii între emoţiile pozitive şi cele negative într-o organizaţie cu profil agenţie de
turism din Bucureşti, România. Metoda: Participanţii au fost un număr de 26 de subiecți, cu vârsta între 23 şi 48
de ani din mediul urban, cu un loc de muncă stabil, angajați în domeniul turismului. Instrumente:
Chestionarul„Emoţii la locul de muncă” cu cinci emoţii pozitive şi cinci emoţii negative adaptat după Levine &
Xu (2005),Chestionarul „comunicare la locul de muncă” (Danciu, 2011) este alcătuit din 40 de itemi, iar
răspunsul pentru fiecare item variază pe o scală Lickert în 6 trepte. Rezultate: În urma analizei corelaţiilor din
tabelul 5, se poate spune că există corelaţii semnificative statistic şi pozitive între variabilele: comunicarea
generală şi comunicarea descendentă (r=0.522 la un nivel de semnificaţie p=0.006<0.01); comunicarea generală
şi emoţii pozitive stare (r=0.48 la un nivel de semnificatie p <0.05); comunicarea generală şi emoţii pozitive
sgenerale (r=0.50 la un nivel de semnificatie p <0.01); emoţii pozitive generale şi comunicare descendentă
(r=0.50 la un nivel de semnicatie p=0.009<0.01); emoţii pozitive stare şi comunicare descendentă (r = 0.463 la
un nivel de semnificaţie p = 0.017<0.05. Rezultatele evidenţiază că managementul resurselor umane trebuie să
dezvolte latura comunicării organizaţionale ascendente şi descendente pentru a putea crea un nivel optim privind
emoţiile pozitive şi creşterea performanţelor la locul de muncă.
43
ORGANIZATIONAL STRESS AS A PREDICTOR OF
MANAGERIAL PERFORMANCE IN BUCHAREST CASINOS
Abstract
1. INTRODUCTION/THEORETHICAL FRAMEWORK
Autor corespondent:
Mihaela Chraif.
Email: mihaela.chraif@fpse.unibuc.ro
44
2009). Astfel, Boghaty (2007) a definit stresul ca un rezultat al interacţiunii stimul-
răspuns, Derevenco, prezintă o definiţei a stresului în care pune accentul pe relaţia
dezechilibru biologic şi resursele reale percepute ale stresului. Iamandescu (1998;
2002) evidenţiază că stresul psihic reprezintă un caz particular de stres care este
declanşat de anumiţi agenţi stresori precum cei psihici. Lazarus si Folkman (1984)
definesc stresul ca fiind un efort cognitiv şi comportamental de răspuns la
solicitărilor externe. Robertson şi Cooper (2008) într-un studiu privind nivelul de
stres la locul de muncă au demonstrat că în proporţie de 65% respondenţii la acest
studiu au evidenţiat că stresul va creste mult sau foarte mult. Capotescu (2006) a
subliniat că dimensiunea organizatiei, structura ierarhica şi descrierea posturilor pot
călăuzi la stresori cum ar fi conflictul de rol, ambiguitatea de rol si incarcatura în
sarcină. Conform lui Capotescu, reactiile se refera la raspunsurile afective,
fiziologice sau comportamentale ale individului şi aceste duc la tulburari fizice
psihologice (figura 1).
45
Având în vedere organizaţiile orientate pe jocuri de noroc, punctul central al
profitului şi performanţei angajaţilor se află în cifra de afaceri care trebuie să fie cât
mai mare. Astfel, profitul sub formă de bani este pe de-o parte performanţa
angajaţilor din sălile de joc de noroc iar pe de altă parte miza şi câştigul jucătorilor
sau clienţilor. In acest caz conducera acestor tipuri de organizaţii poate lua masuri
ce pot fi surse suplimentare de tensiune pentru angajaţi: introducerea testarii
poligraf a angajatilor, cresterea masurilor de verificare, camerele video de
înregistrare a comportamentului în sala de joc.
Casinouri au existat in Romania inca de la inceputul secolului, si sub strictul
control al statului au functionat si in perioada comunista, fiind o combinatie intre
club de noapte si sala de jocuri. In anul 1997, in România au funcţionat un număr
de 57 de casinouri, dintre care un număr de 17 cazinouri erau in Bucuresti.
Raportat la numarul de locuitori, Bucurestiul era, atunci, al treilea oras al jocurilor
de noroc, dupa Las Vegas si Monte Carlo. Piata casinourilor din România este
impartita in piata casinourilor live si cea a casinourilor electronice. Aceasta
clasificare a casinourilor are la baza urmatoarele elemente: modalitatea de pariere,
aparatura din dotare, suprafata locatiilor, precum si serviciile oferite.
Organizaţia studiată a patruns pe piata romaneasca in urma cu noua ani, atunci
cand activitatile de acest gen au inceput sa prinda contur si sa devina profitabile in
tara noastra. Astazi, compania are 65 de sali in Bucuresti si in orase mari din
România cum sunt: Constanta, Brasov, Craiova, Buzau, Ploiesti, Pitesti etc.
Activitatea a inceput cu un numar de 6 angajati, ajungand astazi la un numar
de aproximativ 600 angajati. Organizaţia se află, in prezent, intr-un ritm alert de
dezvoltare a sistemului de pariuri sportive pe lângă sălile de jocuri electronice şi
cele clasice.
2. OBIECTIVE ŞI IPOTEZE
2.1. OBIECTIV
2.2. IPOTEZE
3. METODA
46
3.1. PARTICIPANTI
3.2. INSTRUMENTE
3.3. PROCEDURĂ
4. REZULTATE
47
Tabel 1. Medie si abatere standard pentru variabilelor incluse in analiza de regresie multipla (N=29)
7.83 0.71
Criteriu performanta
3.75 0.34
Multumire
3.78 0.51
Sanatate psihica
3.45 0.78
Sanatate fizica
3.10 0.60
Comportament general
4.18 0.76
Interpretare evenimente
4.30 0.52
Stresori specifici
4.35 0.59
Coping pozitiv
2.09 0.89
Coping negativ
3.76 0.65
Control situatie
48
medie de 4.30 si o abatere standard de 0.52, este o distributie normala, inalta, care
poate fi explicata prin faptul ca raspunsurile subiectilor au fost egal distribuite si
intr-un sens si in celalalt al scalei; alorile la variabila coping pozitiv prezinta o
medie de 4.35 si o abatere standard de 0.59, ceea ce indica o distributie asimetrica
orientata usor spre dreapta, inalta, care poate fi explicata prin faptul ca majoritatea
subiectilor sunt de acord si au o parere similara, putini fiind cei care deviaza de la
aceasta; valorile la variabila coping negativ prezinta o medie de 2.09 si o abatere
standard de 0.89, ceea ce indica o distributie asimetrica orientata spre dreapta;
valorile la variabila control situatie prezinta o medie de 3.76 si o abatere standard
de 0.65, ceea ce indica o distributie normala, inalta, care poate fi explicata prin
faptul ca raspunsurile subiectilor au fost egal distribuite si intr-un sens si in celalalt
al scalei, acestia avand o opinie similara.
Tabelul 2, matricea de corelaţii bivariate intre variabilele modelului de
regresie, evidenţiază corelatii semnificative din punct de vedere statistic intre
variabila dependenta performanta manageriala si variabilele independente,
multumire (r=0.498; p<0.01) si stresori specifici (r=0.696; p<0.01).
Variabila
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 Criteriul de performanta -
2 Multumire ,498** -
49
munca, strategiile de coping pozitiv si coping negativ folosite si control perceput al
situatiei.
Tabel 4 ANOVA
Model Sum of
Squares df Mean Square F p
1 Regression 24.728 1 24.728 24.394 .000
Residual 26.356 26 1.014
Total 51.085 27
2 Regression 29.569 2 14.785 17.179 .000
Residual 21.515 25 .861
Total 51.085 27
a. Predictors: (Constant), Stresori specifici
b. Predictors: (Constant), Stresori. specifici, Multumire
c. Dependent Variable: performanta
50
Tabel 5 Coeficienţii standardizaţi şi nestandardizaţi ai modelului de regresie multipla pentru criteriul performanta
Model Standardized
Unstandardized Coefficients Coefficients
B Std. Error Beta t p
1 (Constant) -.205 1.185 -.173 .864
Stresori specifici 1.187 .240 .696 4.939 .000
2 (Constant) -4.325 2.051 -2.108 .045
Stresori specifici 1.026 .232 .602 4.433 .000
Multumire 1.300 .548 .322 2.372 .026
51
Figura 3. Reprezentarea grafică tip scatterplot pentru valorile observate şi teoretice
5. CONCLUZII
52
puţin stresante deoarece coeficienţii aceştia sunt pozitive, astfel existând o relaţie
pozitivă şi semnificativă statistic (p<0.05). Desi indicele de scadere este mai mare,
in cazul performentei managerilor, decat cel al stresorilor identificati, se poate
trage concluzia ca in acest caz nivelul de stres mai ridicat are si un efect pozitiv,
mobilizator, pentru manageri.
In tabelul numarul doi din cadrul capitolului de rezultate, se poate observa o
corelatie de intre sursele de tensiune si strategiile de coping pozitiv, este
insuficienta in acest caz, la un nivel scazut, se evidenţiază aşa cum reiese din
completarea itemilor chestionarelor aplicate că managerii folosesc ca metode de
adaptare la stres: hobby-urile si distractiile, privesc situatia obiectiv, nu se lasa
influentati de starile afective, isi organizeaza eficient timpul, discuta cu prieteni,
planifica totul din timp, folosesc atentia selectiva, rezolva problemele in ordinea
importantei si urgentei lor, chibzuiesc bine asupra situatiei tensionate.
6. REFERENCES
Bogathy, Z. (2004). Manual de psihologia muncii si organizationala. Iasi: Polirom.
Capotescu, R. (2006). Stresul ocupational: teorii, modele, aplicatii. Iasi: Lumen.
Chraif, M. & Aniţei, M. (2011). The impact of economic crisis on occupational stress
and counterproductive behavior in a food and beverage restaurant chain from Romania
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 2644-2650.
Iamandescu, I.-B. (1993). Stresul psihic si bolile interne. Bucuresti: Editura All.
Iamandescu, I.-B. (2002). Stresul psihic din perspectiva psihologica si psihosociala.
Bucuresti: Editura Infomedica.
Kahn, R. L., & Byosiere, P. (1992). Stress in organizations, In: Dunnette, MD and
Hough, LM (Eds) Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 3. (pp.
571-650). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Landy, F.J., & Conte J.M. (2009). Work in the 21st century. An introduction to
industrial and organizational psychology. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. New York:
Springer.
Le Blanc, P., de Jonge, J. & Schaufeli, W. (2000). Job stress and health. In N. Chmiel
(Ed.), Introduction to work and organizational psychology. A European perspective,
Oxford: Blackwell.
Pitariu, H. D. & Chraif, M. (2009). Analiza muncii. Proiectarea fişelor de post,
Supliment al Revistei managementul Resurselor Umane. Cluj-Napoca: Editura Asociaţiei
de Ştiinţe Cognitive.
Pitariu H. D, Radu I. & Chraif, M., (2009). Selecţia şi evaluarea periodică a
personalului. Supliment al Revistei managementul Resurselor Umane. Cluj-Napoca:
Editura Asociaţiei de Ştiinţe Cognitive.
Robertson, C. (2008). Well-being at Work: The New View The Business Well-being
Network Annual Report. Manchester: Robertson Cooper,
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BOOK REVIEW
54
selection interview techniques and practice models through "role play" scenario
simulations of the selection interview.
The main attraction of this book is chapter 4 "Construction and classification
questions." With an extension on a number of 180 pages, this chapter presents in
the form of a detailed monograph all aspects and features of the process of
constructing interview selection questions and assessment of candidates' answers
scales.
Thus, the reader can easily learn what types of questions to build from the
following categories: free-choice questions that concern mental representation and
cognitive plans of respondents (applicants) questions based on the level of
training/education of candidates, questions that target psychosocial work
conditions; questions concerning aspects and features of attitude towards training,
questions concerning the psychological profile of the job holder: skills, knowledge,
interests, questions concerning attitudes towards work and satisfaction at work, and
so on.
Chapter 5 " observation methods of behavior during interview" has three
major dimensions in observing human behavior during selection interview:
nonverbal communication and processing information in selection interview
scenario, observation method in psychology and nonverbal communication in job
selection interview.
Thus, the authors relying on specific nonverbal communication literature
manage to adapt, encode and decode with great attention most nonverbal codes
during the selection interview: facial indicators, indicators of hands, trunk and legs
indicators and clothing. The fact that for each indicator the authors present pictures
of simulations represents a unique aspect in Romanian psychology.
Chapters 6 and 7 present both theoretical approaches specific to psychometric
indicators for structured and semi-structured interview (for questions measurable
on a Likert scale responses and behavioral anchors). Chapter 7 provides two case
studies on the validation of selection interview in organizations, clear and easy to
understand patterns for readers in all areas.
The Annexes in this book represent the "practical-applied" part because they
can be used in organizations and human resources departments as models in
building their own instruments, documents and forms.
The book " interview method in organizational psychology and human
resources” addresses students, post-graduates, human resources specialists,
organizations, NGOs, multinational companies specialized or non-specialized in
selection and recruitment of staff, and in any other areas where activity requires
selection interview. Moreover, the book is destined to future employees, who want
to be the first to master the "secrets" of a successful selection interview, a stage that
for many candidates represents the launch pad into another new world "the
organization where they will work."
55