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Signal detection theory (SDT) provides a theoretical framework for describing performance on decision making tasks, and fuzzy signal detection theory (FSDT) extends this description to include tasks in which there are levels of uncertainty regarding the categorization of stimulus events. Specifically, FSDT can be used to quantify the degree to which an event is 'signal-like', i.e., the degree to which a stimulus event can be characterized by both signal and non-signal properties. For instance, an improvised explosive device (IED) poses little threat when missing key elements of its assembly (a stimulus of low, but not zero, signal strength) whereas the threat is greater when all elements necessary to ignite the device are present (a stimulus of high signal strength). This research develops a link between key individual cognitive (i.e., spatial orientation and visualization) and personality (i.e., extroversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism) differences among observers to performance on a fuzzy signal detection task, in which the items to be detected (IEDs) are presented in various states of assembly. That is, this research relates individual difference measures to task performance, uses FSDT in target detection, and provides application of the theory to vigilance tasks. In two experiments, participants viewed pictures of IEDs, not all of which are assembled or include key components, and categorize them using a fuzzy rating scale (no threat, low threat potential, moderate threat potential, or definite threat). In both experiments, there were significant interactions between the stimulus threat level category and the variability of images within each category. The results of the first experiment indicated that spatial and mechanical ability were stronger predictors of performance when the signal was ambiguous than when individuals viewed stimuli in which the signal was fully absent or fully present (and, thus, less ambiguous). The second study showed that the length of time a stimulus is viewed is greatest when the signal strength is low and there is ambiguity regarding the threat level of the stimulus. In addition, response times were substantially longer in study 2 than in study 1, although patterns of performance accuracy, as measured by the sensitivity index d', were similar across the two experiments. Together, the experiments indicate that individuals take longer to evaluate a potential threat as less critical, than to identify either an absence of threat or a high degree of threat and that spatial and mechanical ability assist decision making when the threat level is unclear. These results can be used to increase the efficiency of employees working in threat-detection positions, such as luggage screeners, provides an exemplar of use of FSDT, and contributes to the understanding of human decision making.

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The present study deals with the predictive role of past and future self-continuity on procrastination at work. Self-continuity refers to how connected individuals feel to their past and future selves. Procrastination at work is a common issue with negative consequences for individuals and organizations. Previous research has shown a relationship between procrastination in the academic context and future self-continuity. Individuals with lower levels of future self-continuity are more likely to procrastinate because they perceive their future selves as strangers. The present study examines both past and future self-continuity in relation to procrastination in the workplace, rather than focusing on the academic domain. We collected quantitative data using an online questionnaire to answer the research questions. The results showed that both, past and future self-continuity, significantly predicted procrastination at work. Past self-continuity proved to be a stronger predictor than future self-continuity. Even after controlling for conscientiousness, past self-continuity robustly predicted procrastination at work. The mediation analysis did not show significant results for consideration of future consequences as a mediator. These findings emphasize the importance of considering individuals' connections to their past selves in understanding procrastination at work. They underscore the need for interventions that promote reflection on past experiences and goal setting to reduce procrastination tendencies. Our study provides new insights into self-continuity and procrastination in an organizational context and initiates future research and practical interventions.

This study examines the relationships between anti-work orientation which questions and critiques the role of work in our lives, organizational dehumanization where the employee feels objectified by their employer and feels like just a tool, counterproductive work behavior which includes employee behavior which harms the work organization or other employees, and quiet quitting where employees do the bare minimum required by their employer. Due to the lack of previous research, we examined the effect of the level of conscientiousness as a control variable in our regression models. Data was gathered from adult respondents with work experience in a non-management position (n= 257). Results indicate that anti-work orientation and organizational dehumanization significantly predict quiet quitting, suggesting their potential to cause employee disengagement. In contrast, their effects on counterproductive work behavior were not significant, possibly due to a floor effect. Conscientiousness was a robust predictor of counterproductive work behavior and quiet quitting, indicating that conscientious employees engage in less deviant or disengagement behaviors. Exploratory analysis revealed a weak negative correlation between age and quiet quitting, and that Millennials show higher anti-work orientation than Generation X. These findings underscore the need for organizational strategies that promote more humanistic approaches, such as promoting supportive leadership and increasing employee autonomy in order to enhance employee engagement.

This study employed an experimental design intended to be an analog to the workplace to simultaneously examine the affect orientation and equity theory explanations of OCBs, which were evaluated as prosocial behaviors. Participants were 188 undergraduates. Participants' dispositional variables were measured at time 1, and at time 2, participants experienced an equity manipulation and were given the opportunity to perform prosocial behaviors. Results indicated a distinction between the decision to help and helping effort, which has not been thoroughly examined in literature on OCBs. Results revealed that the threshold for the decision to help was raised by inequity, yet once the decision had been made, affect and personality variables affected effort of helping. Implications for research and practice are discussed. / Master of Science

This study investigates the impact of instructors' positive comments on academic resiliency and student performance. Not only is academic resiliency a stable trait, but we hypothesis that it may be induced or impeded; i.e. academic resiliency is malleable. The Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, Academic Locus of Control Scale, and the Academic Conscientiousness Scale were collected as covariates. It was predicted that participants randomly assigned to the positive teacher support condition would score better on the final exam and demonstrate increased academic resiliency compared to a baseline measure. Conversely, participants randomly assigned to the negative teacher support condition should do poorly on the exam and demonstrate reduced academic resiliency compared to a baseline measure. There were of73 undergraduate participants (13 male, 60 female) with a median age of 22 (SD=7 .19) recruited from a large Southeastern university students who were enrolled in two web-based courses.

Autonomy is one of the most commonly studied job characteristics in the work design literature and is commonly associated with large and positive effects on job satisfaction. There is reason to believe that autonomy may interact with personality characteristics to affect attitudinal outcomes, but prior research has tended to focus on the original growth-need-strength construct as a potential moderator with mixed results. One glaring gap in the literature is the lack of research that examines the Big Five constructs of personality as a potential class of moderators. Grant, Fried, and Juillerat (2010) have suggested additional research into the Big Five as moderators of individuals' attitudinal reactions to job characteristics. Moreover, several researchers (e.g., Dudley, Orvis, Lebiecki, & Cortina, 2006; Judge, Heller, & Mount, 2002; Major, Turner, & Fletcher, 2006) have called for increased attention to the facets of the Big Five in conducting such research. This dissertation addressed these two gaps in the research literature. First, the study examined conscientiousness as a potential moderator of the relationship between the job design characteristic of autonomy and the outcomes of job satisfaction and person-job fit. Second, the study tested specific hypotheses regarding these interactions using both the global construct of conscientiousness and the narrower sub-traits--or facets--that exist underneath the broader trait. This dissertation also contributes to the research literature by creating a new measure of person autonomy fit adapted from an existing person job fit measure (Cable & DeRue, 2002) and by showing that person autonomy fit mediates the effect of autonomy and job satisfaction and person job fit. Data were collected at two time points from 181 employees at a national wholesale distribution cooperative. Participants came from the corporate office and 10 independently owned locations across the United States, and held a wide variety of jobs. The results indicated strong main effects for autonomy and conscientiousness and its facets on job satisfaction, and a strong effect of autonomy on person-job fit, but did not find evidence of interactions between autonomy and conscientiousness or any of its facets. Moreover, the results indicate that person autonomy fit mediates the effect of autonomy on these two attitudinal outcomes. Based on these results, I suggest that organizations interested in creating work environments that foster high levels of job satisfaction can do so using at least two mechanisms: 1) by selecting individuals with higher levels of conscientiousness and 2) by providing high levels of autonomy in the workplace. I also argue that the potential payoff of providing autonomous work environments is far higher than for selecting workers predisposed to be more satisfied with their jobs. Finally, I suggest that more research is needed to understand the complex interaction between individual differences and workplace environments.

Thesis (MComm (Industrial Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In psychology literature Conscientiousness forms part of a model that describes personality. Conscientiousness is defined by characteristics such as hard-working, determined, dutiful and perseverance. Conscientiousness is also a strong indicator of work performance and is often used for psychometric assessments during selection. However, in South Africa psychometric assessment, and especially personality testing, has been scrutinized to ensure that it is fair and unbiased in a multicultural society. This study focused on the development of a Conscientiousness questionnaire based on a South African model of conscientiousness, which forms one factor of the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) nine cluster model. The study aimed to investigate whether this conscientiousness questionnaire measures conscientiousness in South Africa. The study formed part of the second phase of the SAPI project (quantitative phase). An experimental conscientiousness instrument consisting of 255 items was administered to a sample of South African Police Service (SAPS) police reservists (N = 1051). Following various analysis 88 of the 255 items were removed. The facets also increased to 26. Cronbach alpha coefficient scores showed acceptable levels of reliability for 21 of the 26 facets. Factor analysis indicated that one factor should be retained. 19 facets loaded on this factor. The findings thus confirm the underlying dimensionality of the conscientiousness cluster. However, the findings also indicate that some facets may have to be re-defined. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die sielkunde literatuur is konsensieusheid deel van 'n model wat persoonlikheid beskryf. Dit word gedefinieer deur eienskappe soos hardwerkendheid, determinasie, pligsgetrouheid en uithouvermoë. Konsensieusheid is ook 'n sterk aanwyser van werkprestasie en word dikwels gebruik vir psigometriese assessering gedurende seleksie. Maar die gebruik van psigometriesetoetse en veral die gebruik van persoonlikheids toetse in Suid Afrika is egter onder die vergrootglas geplaas om te verseker dat hierdie toetse billik en onsydig toegepas kan word in Suid Afrika. Hierdie studie fokus op die ontwikkeling van 'n konsensieheusheids-persoonlikheidsvraelys wat gebaseer is op die Suid Afrikaanse model van konsensieusheid en wat deel uitmaak van die Suid Afrikaanse Persoonlikheids-Inventaris (SAPI) se nege faktor model. Hierdie studie is deel van die tweede fase van die SAPI projek (kwantitatiewe fase) en stel ondersoek in of hierdie persoonlikheidsvraelys wel die konstruk van konsensieusheid meet in Suid Afrika. Die eksperimentele konsensieusheidsinstrument, wat bestaan uit 255 items, was aan 'n steekproef van intreevlak polisieaansoekers van die Suid Afrikaanse Polisie Dienste (N=1051) toegedien. Na verskeie analises, is 88 van die 255 items verwyder. Die fasette het ook vermeerder na 26. Verder het die Cronbach Alpha koëffissiënttellings gunstige vlakke van betroubaarheid aangedui vir 21 van die 26 fasette. Faktoranalise het aangedui dat een faktor onttrek moet word en 19 fasette het hierop gelaai. Dus is die onderliggende dimensie van die konsensieusheid faktor bevestig. Daar sal egter van die fasette herdefineer moet word. / jfl2011

The study investigated the underlying factors which induce the School Governing Bodies (SGBs) and School Management Teams (SMTs) to boundary cross into each other’s finance functional domain despite the fact that their responsibilities are demarcated in the South African Schools Act No. 84 of 1996. The study also intended to examine financial conscientiousness as a critical strategy, which was aimed at achieving the following: restricting the boundary spanning management among School Governing Bodies and School Management Teams, giving direction and strengthening the relationship between the two structures in section 21 high schools. Pragmatism was used as a paradigm for this study as it has been hailed as one of the best paradigms for justifying the use of mixed methods research. The researcher located the study within mixed methods research and employed the convergent parallel design characterised by collecting concurrently both qualitative and quantitative data. The study used a nonprobability sampling strategy – a purposive sampling technique. The study focused on 147 participants. The sample consisted of the following participant sub-groups: (a) 138 questionnaires participants (46 school principals, 46 SGB chairpersons and 46 school finance officers) sampled from 46 high schools, and (b) 9 face-to-face interviews participants (3 school principals, 3 SGB chairpersons) and purposively sampled from 3 different section 21 high schools located in rural, semi-urban and urban areas of the Butterworth District, and 3 Departmental Officials (The District Director, An Education Development Officer, and District National Norms and Standards for School funding coordinator) sampled from the Butterworth Education District. The study was guided by the following research question: What ideas of consciousness raising strategies could help alleviate the crossing over of boundaries between SGBs and SMTs on financial matters of the section 21 high schools? The financial conscientiousness conceptual framework for this study hinged on the conscious raising concept of Paulo Freire supported by philosophical ideas of theorists of school-based management concept, school-based participative partnership concept, school-based participative management concept and teamwork concept. These theories are expected to encourage the inclusive participation when finances are handled in section 21 high schools. The study used a survey questionnaire to collect quantitative dataset and interviews for the qualitative dataset to find answers to the research question and also to enhance the reliability and validity of the research findings. The quantitative data were presented in tables with frequencies and percentages as well as pie charts. Themes and Natural Meaning Units (NMUs) were used to analyse the qualitative data. The overall findings backed by the extant literature and research data indicated that there was lack of trust among SGBs and SMTs. Owing to this mistrust the day to day activities of the school were compromised. There were power struggles between SGBs and SMTs in schools for the control of school finances. There were corrupt practices by both SGBs and SMTs in the management of school finances. The findings also revealed lack of capacity building by the department of education. Furthermore, the SGBs parent component was characterised by high illiteracy level – a systemic weakness worsened by the manipulation perpetrated by both school governing bodies and school management teams during school finance management processes. Resulting from the data analysis, the study recommended the utilisation and application of Sifuba’s School Finance Management Awareness Model (SSFMA) as a new model that could be adopted and adapted by the Department of Education for the school finance management. This will create educational sound atmosphere and realities at school level – a model that is capable of inducing the participative and inclusive behaviour of the SGBs and SMTs when they perform their financial responsibilities