Interpersonal Climate Research Articles

Employee perception of work stress in a large construction company in Australia

Managing stress effectively is touted to be a key determinant of increased performance. It is however believed that individuals perceive and cope with stress differently. This thus makes stress management more complicated in construction. The aim of this research is to investigate the perceived work stress of construction employees by examining how perceived stress vary across employees and the perceived stress correlate with employee performance. In addressing these, an online questionnaire survey of 187 construction employees was undertaken, and data were analysed using the relative prevalence indexing method, ANOVA and Pearson correlation tests. The overall results show that poor work-life balance and work overloads are the major negative perceived stressors for construction professionals. Furthermore, there were differences in the perceived stress among cadets, operational staff, middle and top management. Lastly, the findings reveal the interpersonal and organisational climate have strong association with employee performance. In conclusion, the findings shed lights on the spectrum of work stress underling employee performance and how different cohorts of employees perceive and experience work stress.

Leader–Member Exchange Level and Differentiation: The Roles of Interpersonal Justice Climate and Group Affective Tone

We examined the effect of leader–member exchange (LMX) level and differentiation on interpersonal justice climate and positive group affective tone. We proposed a moderated mediation model with interpersonal justice climate as a mediator and team-level LMX differentiation as a moderator. The study sample comprised 333 employees in 73 teams from 14 South Korean companies. Results showed that LMX level was positively associated with positive group affective tone and that interpersonal justice climate partially mediated this relationship. Team-level LMX differentiation moderated the mediation effect, such that high LMX differentiation within a team negatively affected interpersonal justice climate, thus weakening the positive effect of LMX level on positive group affective tone. This suggests that LMX differentiation influences positive group affective tone, meaning it may be advisable for the quality of this relationship to be differentiated only when there is a low level of support and trust between the team leader and members.

Team Potency and Its Impact on Performance via Self-efficacy and Adaptability

In sales, working together as a team for achieving individual performance is a relevant element. In this paper, we suggest a theoretical framework that analyzes the impact of team potency on subjective performance, according to two mechanisms: self-efficacy and adaptability. The hypotheses suggest that (a) team potency has a positive relationship with self-efficacy and adaptability; self-efficacy and adaptability impact performance (b) directly and (c) indirectly, through a mediating role; and (d) interpersonal climate quality moderates these associations. We did a national survey with 290 salespeople organized in 101 teams from a water purification company. We used multilevel analyses and results suggested that sales team potency has a main effect on self-efficacy and adaptability. Second, results showed that self-efficacy and adaptability explain subjective performance. Third, self-efficacy and adaptability mediate the association between team potency and individual performance. Fourth, we did not find support for a moderating role of interpersonal climate quality on team potency. Final remarks and future research are discussed in the paper.

Does Sex Really Matter? Examining the Connections Between Spouses' Nonsexual Behaviors, Sexual Frequency, Sexual Satisfaction, and Marital Satisfaction.

We examined the interplay between husbands' and wives' positive and negative nonsexual interpersonal behaviors, frequency of sexual intercourse, sexual satisfaction, and feelings of marital satisfaction. To do this, we conducted an in-depth face-to-face interview and completed a series of telephone diaries with 105 couples during their second, third, and fourteenth years of marriage. Consistent with the argument that women's sexual response is tied to intimacy (Basson, 2000), multilevel analyses revealed that husbands' positive interpersonal behaviors directed toward their wives-but not wives' positivity nor spouses' negative behaviors (regardless of gender)-predicted the frequency with which couples engaged in intercourse. The frequency of sexual intercourse and interpersonal negativity predicted both husbands' and wives' sexual satisfaction; wives' positive behaviors were also tied to husbands' sexual satisfaction. When spouses' interpersonal behaviors, frequency of sexual intercourse, and sexual satisfaction were considered in tandem, all but the frequency of sexual intercourse were associated with marital satisfaction. When it comes to feelings of marital satisfaction, therefore, a satisfying sex life and a warm interpersonal climate appear to matter more than does a greater frequency of sexual intercourse. Collectively, these findings shed much-needed light on the interplay between the nonsexual interpersonal climate of marriage and spouses' sexual relationships.

Do teachers misbehave? Aggression in school teams

Purpose– Despite growing research on school aggression, significant gaps remain in the authors’ knowledge of team aggression, since most studies have mainly explored aggression on the part of students. The purpose of this paper is to focus on understanding the phenomenon of workplace aggression in school teams. Specifically, the purpose of the study was to examine whether team affective conflict in school teams mediates the relationship between team injustice climate (distributive, procedural, and interpersonal injustice climate) and team aggression.Design/methodology/approach– Data were collected from a survey of 43 school teams at different schools using questionnaires.Findings– Results showed that team affective conflict played a role in fully mediating the relationship of team procedural and interpersonal injustice climate to team aggression.Research limitations/implications– The present results empirically support the notion that workplace aggression can be considered not only an individual phenomenon but also a team phenomenon. Furthermore, it highlights the significance of organizational factors in predicting this phenomenon. The study should serve to encourage principals to reduce the level of team aggression and develop a supportive climate characterized by fair procedures and respect.Originality/value– A review of the literature also reveals that little investigative effort has been made by scholars to examine aggression on the part of teachers. Evidence for this can be seen in the scarcity of publications on this topic. The current literature’s call to address this issue in schools and at the team level (Fox and Stallworth, 2010) stimulated the present study by highlighting the importance of exploring the contextual factors, rather than the individual ones, responsible for school team aggression.

Critical geragogy: A framework for facilitating older learners in community music

The principal aim of this paper is to address the question of whether and how professional practice within an informal teaching and learning context (music) may be understood through a critical-geragogy lens. Secondly, we consider whether critical geragogy has relevance to and potential applications for enhancing practice among facilitators of older learners in community contexts. Geragogy refers to the management of teaching and learning for older adults and has become a well-known term applied to teaching and learning in later life. Critical geragogy retains the focus on older adults, but challenges the beliefs, practices, and structures related to ageing, supports older learners in overcoming alienation and developing a sense of powerful agency, and offers resources for purposeful collective action. In this paper we analyse the narratives of 13 facilitators of musical activities for older people, interpreting their reflections on practice within a critical-geragogy framework. The interviews, focusing on good practice in facilitating older learners, were carried out as part of the second phase of the Music for Life Project, funded by the UK Research Councils. A thematic analysis was undertaken, using a framework that was structured around person-centred, fellow-centred, and matter-centred goals. The interviews revealed that musical groups provided informal learning contexts where facilitators aspired to empower their participants through developing a positive interpersonal climate, valuing participation, using the participants' prior experiences as a resource, and guiding their groups towards creative expression as well as progression.

A multilevel view of predictors of children’s perceptions of school interpersonal climate.

Increasing attention is being given to the role of a positive school interpersonal climate in children’s school functioning and social–emotional development. Children’s perceptions are commonly used to measure the interpersonal school climate, but the individual and contextual characteristics that contribute to variation in children’s perceptions remain unclear. This study examines the direct and interactive effects of multiple individual child characteristics and school-level interpersonal climate on elementary schoolchildren’s perceptions of negative interpersonal climate and feeling afraid at school. Demographic, social–cognitive, behavioral, and academic characteristics are examined at the individual level. School context variables capturing interpersonal climate include school-level aggregated children’s perceptions of negative climate and teacher perceptions of student respect, safety and teacher affiliation. Data come from 4,016 4th graders from 83 public elementary schools. At the child level, results indicate that children’s empathy, victimization, and academic competence explained significant variation in at least 1 of the 2 outcomes in the expected direction. Girls also reported feeling more afraid. The associations for Black children between victimization and climate and behavioral problems and climate were weaker. For Hispanic children, the association was weaker between academic competence and feeling afraid and stronger between engagement and feeling afraid. At the school level, aggregated children’s perceptions of climate were most strongly associated with both outcomes. Teacher affiliation and teacher-rated student respect–safety moderated the association between engagement and children’s perceptions of negative interpersonal climate. These interactions are discussed in relation to existing theory and research, as are implications for policy and future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Effects of Administrative Climate and Interpersonal Climate in University on Teachers’ Mental Health

A self-made questionnaire was used to test the influence of university administrative and interpersonal climate to teachers’ mental health. 826 teachers were stratified randomly from 20 universities across China, and the survey data of samples were analyzed by correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis. The results show that the administrative and interpersonal climate in universities is one significantly positive predicting variable of the teachers’ mental health. The study finds out that administrators and educational practitioners should strengthen the construction of soft power in universities, such as promoting the culture and positive organizational climate, building up good administrative and interpersonal climate, so as to promote teachers’ mental health development.

Proficiency in positive vs. negative emotion identification and subjective well-being among long-term married elderly couples.

Evidence is accruing that positive emotions play a crucial role in shaping a healthy interpersonal climate. Inspired by this research, the current investigation sought to shed light on the link between proficiency in identifying positive vs. negative emotions and a close partner's well-being. To this end, we conducted two studies with neurologically intact elderly married couples (Study 1) and an age-matched clinical sample, comprising married couples in which one spouse had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (Study 2), which tends to hinder emotional expressivity. To assess proficiency in identifying emotions from whole body postures, we had participants in both studies complete a pointlight walker task, featuring four actors (two male, two female) expressing one positive (i.e., happiness) and three negative (i.e., sadness, anger, fear) basic emotions. Participants also filled out measures of subjective well-being. Among Study 1's neurologically intact spouses, greater expertise in identifying positive (but not negative) emotions was linked to greater partner life satisfaction (but not hedonic balance). Spouses of PD patients exhibited increased proficiency in identifying positive emotions relative to controls, possibly reflective of compensatory mechanisms. Complementarily, relative to controls, spouses of PD patients exhibited reduced proficiency in identifying negative emotions and a tendency to underestimate their intensity. Importantly, all of these effects attenuated with longer years from PD onset. Finally, there was evidence that it was increased partner expertise in identifying negative (rather than positive) emotional states that predicted greater life satisfaction levels among the PD patients and their spouses. Our results thus suggest that positive vs. negative emotions may play distinct roles in close relationship dynamics as a function of neurological status and disability trajectory.

Institutional Support and Interpersonal Climate as Predictors of Learning for Native American Students

A national sample of 647 Native American students who took the National Survey of Student Engagement was used to test a path model to predict learning for Native American students. Institutional support for students’ success and a positive interpersonal environment contributed both to engagement and learning. Support for student success was the strongest predictor for learning in all 3 domains tested. Strategies for providing such support are considered in light of the historical and contemporary challenges Native American students encounter in formal educational settings that routinely dismiss and misrepresent their cultures and experiences.

Schools, Peers, and Prejudice in Adolescence.

Adolescents' perceptions of the prejudice in their social environments can factor into their developmental outcomes. The degree to which others in the environment perceive such prejudice-regardless of adolescents' own perceptions-also matters by shedding light on the contextual climate in which adolescents spend their daily lives. Drawing on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study revealed that schoolwide perceptions of peer prejudice, which tap into the interpersonal climate of schools, appeared to be particularly risky for adolescents' academic achievement. In contrast, adolescents' own perceptions of peer prejudice at schools were associated with their feelings of alienation in school. Importantly, these patterns did not vary substantially by several markers of vulnerability to social stigmatization.

The Experience Structure of Organizational Climate in Universities and the Development of Its Measurement: Based on Chinese Context

Based upon the theoretical research and educational practice on school organizational climate at home and abroad, the structural factors of organizational climate in universities were theoretically conceived. The deep interview and self-report questionnaires were adopted, and by using the analyses of exploring factors and of verifying factors, the results show that organizational climate in universities had four dimensions, i.e., administrative climate, teaching climate, learning climate and interpersonal climate, with a total of 16 sub-factors. Results show that the scale of organizational climate in university has good reliability and construct validity. It can be used as assessment tools of organization climate in the university.

Multilevel Prospective Dynamics in School-Based Social and Emotional Learning Programs

A growing body of evidence supports the effectiveness of school-based interventions aimed at improving children’s social functioning and preventing emotional and behavioral difficulties. These social and emotional learning (SEL) programs vary in their pedagogical approaches, with some focusing on individual-level skill development and others emphasizing contextual changes designed to improve interpersonal dynamics and climate at the classroom or building level. Most programs use elements of both approaches in complementary ways. Ecological theory suggests that individual and environmental factors interact with and reciprocally influence each other in the context of school-based preventive interventions. Changes in school structure and culture may help improve outcomes for children, whereas enhanced social skills may lead to improved school climate. This article reviews evidence regarding these multilevel and cross-level prospective dynamics within school-based SEL interventions.

Error Communication and Analysis in Hospitals: The Role of Leadership and Interpersonal Climate

We investigate the mediating role of psychological safety in the relationship between leaders’ coaching behavior and health professionals’ willingness to acknowledge and analyze errors in medical units. We used SEM to test the mediated effect. Results indicate both a direct and an indirect effect of leadership on collective learning behaviors. Our data suggest that capitalizing on past mistakes in order to improve patient safety and quality of care depends on the interpersonal skills of leaders in the medical field and the interpersonal group climate they facilitate.

The Role of the School Environment in Relational Aggression and Victimization

Research conducted over the last decade has documented both the high rates of and serious consequences associated with both victimization and perpetration of relational aggression. This study examines risk for involvement in relational aggression and victimization among middle school youth, evaluating both individual beliefs about violence, as well as aspects of the school environment, including interpersonal school climate and school responsiveness to violence. A sample of 5,625 primarily urban minority middle school youth (49.2 % female) participating in a violence prevention project completed measures of relational aggression and victimization as well as indicators of individual beliefs about aggression, school norms for aggression, student-teacher and student-student interpersonal climate, and school responsiveness to violence. Unlike results previously found for physical aggression, no school-level indicator of climate was related to relational aggression or victimization. However, individual beliefs about aggression and individual perceptions of the school environment were related strongly to both the perpetration of and victimization by relational aggression. These results suggest not only that individual beliefs and perceptions of the school environment are important in understanding perpetration and victimization of relational aggression, but also that risk for involvement in relational aggression is distinct from that of physical aggression. Implications for school interventions are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.

Kick Em When They’re Down: An Investigation Of Targeted Incivility

Drawing on theories in sociology and organizational behavior, the authors test the premise that individuals who are disadvantaged and vulnerable due to organizational, structural and personal factors are more likely to be targets of workplace incivility (e.g., kick ‘em when they’re down). Based on a sample of participants (N=1,344) from the General Social Survey (2004), results generally supported our hypotheses. Specifically, when the interpersonal climate of the organization is supportive of incivility (organizational factors), and when individuals have low socio-economic status (structural factors) and low self-esteem (personal factors), they are more likely to be targets of incivility. Further, victims’ self-esteem played an important moderating role (with some exceptions) as the relationships between organizational, structural and personal factors with targeted incivility were stronger when self-esteem was low compared to when it was high.

Influence of school-level variables on aggression and associated attitudes of middle school students

This study sought to understand school-level influences on aggressive behavior and related social cognitive variables. Participants were 5106 middle school students participating in a violence prevention project. Predictors were school-level norms opposing aggression and favoring nonviolence, interpersonal climate (positive student–teacher relationships and positive student–student relationships), and school responsiveness to violence (awareness and reporting of violence and school safety problems). Outcomes were individual-level physical aggression, beliefs supporting aggression, and self-efficacy for nonviolent responses. School norms and both interpersonal climate variables had effects on all three outcomes in theorized directions. Only one of the responsiveness measures, awareness and reporting of violence, had theoretically consistent effects on all outcomes. The other, school safety problems, affected self-efficacy later in middle school. Evidence of gender moderation was generally consistent with greater influence of school-level factors on female adolescents. Discussion focuses on implications in light of previous research and intervention possibilities.

High versus low crewmember autonomy during a 105-day Mars simulation mission

Crewmembers participating in long-duration space expeditions beyond the Earth–Moon environment will have more autonomy than in previous on-orbit missions or missions to the Moon. In order to study the impact of high versus low crew autonomy on crewmembers and mission control personnel we studied 6 men who were isolated for 105 days in a Mars mission simulator at the Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow, along with 18 outside individuals who monitored their activities in a simulated mission control. During the first 10 weeks of the isolation the crew interacted with mission control under a low autonomy condition, where the latter developed the work schedule and communicated with the former in real time. During the last 5 weeks a high autonomy condition was instituted, where crewmembers planned and revised their work schedule and where a Mars-like communication time delay occurred with the outside monitors. Both the crew and mission control subjects completed weekly measures of mood, group interpersonal climate, work freedom, and performance. The results suggested that high work autonomy was well received by the crew, mission goals were accomplished, and there were no adverse effects. During the high autonomy period, crewmember mood and self-direction were reported as being better but the mission control personnel reported more anxiety and work role confusion. Despite scoring lower in work pressure overall, the four Russian crewmembers reported a greater rise in work pressure from low to high autonomy than the two Europeans. In contrast, the European crewmembers reported a greater rise in negative dysphoric mood in going from low to high autonomy, whereas the Russians′ emotional state remained the same or slightly improved. Work freedom was rated slightly higher during high autonomy, but work performance was about the same overall, although Russian scores increased and European scores decreased on all four performance measures. It is time to study the effects of high autonomy with larger subject samples during on-orbit space missions (e.g., to the International Space Station) in order to prepare for future deep space exploratory missions, where high autonomy will be the norm.

Academically Successful African American Male Urban High School Students’ Experiences of Mattering to Others at School

Mattering to others has been shown to be a key construct of mental health and wellness. Emerging research links interpersonal mattering and school climate. In this study, the authors use transcendental phenomenology to explore how interpersonal mattering impacts the academic achievement of urban African American males who are academically successful in high school. Implications for the integration of this new information in school counseling are discussed.

The Role of Consensus in Sales Team Performance

Although team-based selling is highly prominent in practice, research on the drivers of its effectiveness is sparse. Drawing from the literature on climate consensus, the authors propose that in addition to leadership and team factors, team consensus plays a critical role in boosting sales team effectiveness. Using survey and archival data from a sample of 185 pharmaceutical sales teams, the authors find that high team consensus regarding team-level leadership empowerment behaviors (LEBs) and team interpersonal climate quality enhances team potency given high LEBs but weakens team potency given low LEBs. In turn, team potency translates into sales team performance through both extra-role (team helping behavior) and in-role (team effort) behavior. The authors discuss the implications of these findings.