An updated meta-analysis of the primed goal-organizational behaviour relationship
Abstract
Environmental cues (e.g. achievement-related words and pictures) can prime/activate, in the absence of awareness, a mental representation of importance stored in memory. Chen et al.'s 2021 Applied Psychology: An International Review70, 216–253. (doi:10.1111/apps.12239) meta-analysis revealed a moderate, significant overall effect for the goal priming-organizational behaviour relationship, with three moderators identified: context-specific versus a general prime, prime modality (i.e. visual versus linguistic) and experimental setting (field versus laboratory). An independent researcher found that their finding was negligibly affected by a publication bias. Shanks & Vadillo (2021), Royal Society Open Science8, 210544. (doi:10.1098/rsos.210544) (field: k = 13, N = 683, d = 0.64), questioned Chen et al.'s conclusion regarding the effect size found in field studies (field: k = 8, N = 357, d = 0.68). In this paper, we discussed Shanks & Vadillo's selection of additional field experiments that led to their conclusion of a publication bias. We updated Chen et al.'s meta-analysis to include relevant studies conducted since that study's publication. The present meta-analysis reproduced the original findings in Chen et al. (field: k = 11, N = 534, d = 0.67). The updated findings are consistent with: (i) laboratory findings, (ii) the findings obtained in field experiments on consciously set goals and (iii) goal setting theory (Latham & Locke, 2018 In Handbook of industrial, work & organizational Psychology, vol. 1 (eds D Ones, N Anderson, C Viswesvaran, H Sinangil), pp. 103–124).
Can holding a stick improve listening at work? The effect of Listening Circles on employees’ emotions and cognitions
Guy Itzchakov, Avraham N. Kluger
Listening
The Listening Circle is a method for improving listening in organizations. It involves people sitting in a circle where only one talks at a time. Talking turns are signaled by a talking object. Although there are several reports regarding the effectiveness of the Listening Circle, most are based on case studies, or confounded with another intervention, and do not use theory to predict the listening-induced outcomes. We predicted that perceiving good listening decreases employees’ social anxiety, which allows them to engage in deeper introspection, as reflected by increased self-awareness. This increased self-awareness enables an acknowledgment of the pros and cons of various work-related attitudes and can lead to attitudes that are objectively more ambivalent and less extreme. Further, we hypothesized that experiencing good listening will enable speakers to accept their contradictions without the evaluative conflict usually associated with it (subjective-attitude ambivalence). In three quasi-experiments (Ns = 31, 66 and 83), we compared the effects of a Listening Circle workshop to a self-enhancement workshop (Studies 1 and 2), to a conflict management workshop (Study 2) and to employees who did not receive any training (Study 3), and found consistent support for the hypotheses. Our results suggest that the Listening Circle is an effective intervention that can benefit organizations.
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Executive function deficits mediate the relationship between employees’ ADHD and job burnout
Yaara Turjeman-Levi, Guy Itzchakov and Batya Engel-Yeger
Organizational Behavior and Social Psychology
Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often face significant
deficits in executive function and adverse work-related outcomes. This study aimed to explore the
role of executive function deficits in job burnout of employees with ADHD. We hypothesized that
employees with ADHD, relative to employees without ADHD, will experience higher levels of job
burnout and deficits in executive function. We also hypothesized that the ADHD-job burnout
relationship would be mediated through executive function deficits, specifically by selfmanagement to time and self-organization/problem-solving. A field study with 171 employees
provided support for the research hypotheses and mediation model in which the employees’
ADHD-job burnout relationship was mediated through executive function deficits. Additional
mediation analyses indicated that the specific executive function of self-management to time and
self-organization/problem-solving mediated the effect of ADHD on job burnout and its facets.
Specifically, for physical fatigue, the mediation was realized through self-management to time,
and for emotional exhaustion and cognitive weariness, the mediation was significant through selforganization/problem-solving. The present findings shed light on the relevance of referring ADHD
among employees, their vulnerability to job burnout, and the role of executive function deficits in
job burnout of employees with ADHD.
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