Social Interdependence Research Articles

Political skill and informal leader emergence: The role of relationships, competence and outcome interdependence

AbstractPolitical skill facilitates political influence, enabling individuals to distinguish themselves within an organization. The influence of political skill operates through three primary processes: interpersonal, behavioural and intrapsychic. These processes provide a comprehensive understanding of how political skill functions within an organizational context. According to political influence theory, we propose that political skill can promote informal leader emergence through its interpersonal process, which enhances team member relationship quality, and its behavioural process, which demonstrates peer‐perceived competence. Furthermore, by integrating political influence theory with social interdependence theory, we identify outcome interdependence as a mechanism that elicits intrapsychic processes, specifically as a moderator that influences the indirect effect of political skill on informal leader emergence. Results from two multi‐wave, multi‐sourced studies provide empirical support for the notion that political skill encourages employees to emerge as informal leaders within a team by increasing team member relationship quality and peer‐perceived competence. Additionally, outcome interdependence amplifies the indirect and positive effects of political skill on informal leader emergence. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Teacher Training Dynamics: Positive and Negative Interdependence in Moroccan Training Centers

This study explores the dynamics of competition and collaboration among trainee teachers at the Centres Régionaux des Métiers de l’Éducation et de la Formation (CRMEF) in Morocco. Given the increasing precarity in teacher training centers and the heightened emphasis on effectiveness and academic excellence, the research examines how these factors shape trainees' learning environment and professional development. Using Social Interdependence Theory, the study assesses how varying levels of competition and collaboration impact trainees' attitudes, behaviors, and overall performance, offering insights into their educational experiences and outcomes. The study employed an exploratory sequential design, beginning with data from two focus group discussions to develop a survey, which was then administered to 157 participants from three regional academies. The findings reveal high levels of competition at the CRMEF, contributing to increased stress and reduced teamwork effectiveness. However, trainees demonstrate strong collaboration in group tasks while displaying competitive behaviors during individual tasks. The study suggests that team-based assessments could mitigate the negative impacts of competition and enhance collaborative efforts.

Shaping innovative change through concentrated, distributed, or hybrid leadership? Organizational resilience in women’s liberal arts colleges

ABSTRACT Decades of research suggest that women’s liberal arts colleges (WLACs) are models of excellence in supporting gender equity in higher education and society generally. But as WLACs face competition from coeducational counterparts for women students, their specialized mission compounds strong external threats to their sustainability. Consequently, these institutions may deploy different leadership approaches through which they synergize social interdependencies across the campus to innovate and thrive. To examine the connection of leadership to innovation at WLACs, we apply concentrated, distributed, and hybrid leadership theories to illuminate multi-campus case-studies of the engagement of administrative and faculty groups in academic changes taking place. Our empirical themes supported flexible perspectives on communication and decision-making: one case-site featured hybrid leadership to coordinate formal (administrative) and informal (faculty and staff) leaders in large-scale efforts, while the other case-site reflected distributed leadership via bottom-up, faculty-driven initiatives in discrete siloes of expertise on campus. Moreover, the study’s findings suggested that cultural and material resources mediated who distributed leadership, how leadership was distributed, and what was distributed, differentiating campuses’ respective social processes and outcomes of change. We discuss implications for theory, practice, and research that collectively emphasize WLACs’ mission-driven social activity, which animates their resilience and public purposes.

Hybrid model of care for older persons for improvement of frailty index—a community-based interventional study in an urban setting

BackgroundAn older person undergoes a ‘disablement’ process with aging. A comprehensive geriatric assessment centered around the functional status informs the healthcare provider of their frailty status, based on which tailored interventions may be designed to help prevent/reverse frailty. This study was conducted to assess the improvement in frailty index by training older persons for self-care practices using a multi-domain behavioural intervention, assisted by their caregivers.MethodsIt is a community-based interventional trial among older persons aged ≥ 60 years and their primary caregivers conducted in an urban community for a period of 15 months. A hybrid model, which exploits the advantages of every indigenous geriatric model of care, in providing a holistic care to old persons, was developed and adopted. Intervention was designed to incorporate all domains of frailty assessed, based upon self-efficacy and social interdependence theory. Frail-VIG scale and SPPB scores were used to measure the outcomes.Results128 older persons and their primary caregivers were recruited. Median age was 70 and 67 years in the intervention and control group respectively, with majority being males. The median frailty index at baseline was 0.36 in both the groups, with improvement in intervention group (0.20) and worsening in control group (0.44) at end-line. From the DID analysis, a reduction of 0.19 points of frailty index was observed (even after adjustment for co-variates) in the intervention group, as compared to the control group. Also, it was observed that age and gender of the old person, their per capita income and the family support played an interactive effect in improvement of the frailty index. There was a significant difference in SPPB scores as well, between the groups [5 (1) in CG vs. 7 (2) in IG, p < 0.001].ConclusionFrailty could be reversed with appropriate interventions designed on the pillars of self-efficacy, and social interdependence among family members. The hybrid model of care delineates the role of caregivers, who reinforce the old persons to follow prescribed interventions.

Building an evaluation index system of musical collaborative capacity for China’s compulsory music education: Using a combined Delphi method and Analytic Hierarchy Process approach

The latest version of China’s National Compulsory Education Curriculum Programme and Standards 2022 (hereafter CECPS 2022) emphasises the cultivation of students’ collaborative capacities, mentioning ‘ carrying out the core literacy effectively’. From the perspective of music education, this study summarises the requirements for collaborative activities in compulsory courses of the music discipline within CECPS 2022 in the light of Social Interdependence Theory, and builds an Evaluation Index System of Collaborative Capacity (hereafter EISMCC) by employing the Delphi method and an Analytic Hierarchy Process approach. After 3 rounds of expert consultations and revisions, it was found that EISMCC in compulsory music education is comprised of 3 first-level indices, 7 second-level indices and 20 third-level indices. The index framework and the results of the weight distribution with reliable quality reflect the experts’ emphasis on the process, goal orientation and synergistic interaction of collaborative activities in music learning. The whole system considers people’s general understanding of collaborative capacity, the calls within CECPS 2022 for collaborative music activities, and the practical demands of music teaching in compulsory education. This study provides a theoretical basis, a design process paradigm, practical guidance and a valid tool for the evaluation of collaborative capacity in compulsory education.

Acquisition of English Language with the Aid of ICT

Technology is reshaping and reconstructing the patterns of social inter-dependence and every aspects of personal life of the users. Teaching and learning of today have moved from instructivism to constructivism. Constructivism demands more effective use of ICT and the technology is an embodiment of practice of constructivism. It has changed the way the teacher teaches and the way the learner learns. The important term of this paper that is Language acquisition stands for learning a language without making any deliberate or conscious effort. It gives the chance of liberal expression of learners’ views and solving the problems through it. The pedagogical experience being gained currently brings out clearly the didactic potential of modern technology in the intensification of second language teaching. Technology integration into the curriculum not only enhances the learners’ progress in terms of creativity but also paves the way for professional development for teachers as well as with its various tools of technology enhances the language learning. The present paper attempts to present the views on how the Information Communication Technology (ICT) is useful in the effective language acquisition using its wide range of digital tools and gadgets in a smart way.

Mortality risk of loneliness: Culture matters.

Does loneliness predict premature death? Much prior research suggests so, but this evidence draws primarily on populations from individualistic societies, such as North America and Western Europe. Here, we aimed to extend this evidence by testing a hypothesis that loneliness would predict greater mortality risk in collectivistic societies, where social interdependence is normatively sanctioned. Using a harmonized dataset from two individualistic (England and the United States) and two collectivistic (Korea and Mexico) countries (combined N = 41,869), we tested whether cultural contexts moderate the extent to which loneliness predicts 10-year all-cause mortality. After adjustment of demographic variables and health behaviors, loneliness was associated with increased 10-year mortality in all four countries, with hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.13 in England, 1.21 in the United States and Mexico, and 1.51 in Korea. When health conditions were additionally controlled, this association became negligible in two individualistic countries, with HRs of 0.98 for both England and the United States. In contrast, the HR remained highly significant in Korea (HR = 1.27). Curiously, the mortality risk of loneliness in Mexico (HR = 1.03), another collectivistic country, was no different from the risks in England and the United States. When people feel that they are chronically isolated from social networks, this perception can be fatal in Korea, but it is less so in the other three countries. Discussion focuses on other cultural factors, besides the cultural dimension of individualism-collectivism, that may account for the current finding. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

When and why host country nationals give advice to expatriates: A relational work context perspective

This study advances our understanding of how a relational work context can promote host country nationals’ (HCNs’) advice-giving behavior. Drawing from social interdependence theory and relational signalling theory, we develop a multilevel model to demonstrate how task interdependence and expatriate advice seeking can jointly influence HCNs’ advice giving. Using data from 795 HCNs nested within 159 expatriates, we find that at the HCN level (Level 1), task interdependence facilitates HCNs’ prosocial motivation and advice-giving behavior. Also, at the expatriate level (Level 2), task interdependence facilitates expatriates’ advice-seeking behavior, which further has a cross-level interaction effect with HCNs’ task interdependence in predicting HCNs’ prosocial motivation and ultimate advice-seeking behavior. We discuss the implications for theory and practice.

Contextualising mental health: interdisciplinary contributions to a new model for tackling social differences and inequalities in mental healthcare

ABSTRACT Many classical approaches in the area of phenomenological pscyhopathology focus on structures of lived experience of mental illness and overlook the role social context plays in the formation of lived experiences. The paper addresses this issue and contributes to recent research which has pointed out that there is a need for an approach to mental health which investigates the role of context in shaping lived experiences. We propose a conception of contextuality (or situatedness) which we develop in terms of two main characteristics: intersectionality and social relationality of the human condition. We take context to be shaped by social interdependence and by the intersection of multiple factors including gender, race, ethnicity, class, socio-economic status and power relations. We develop this analysis in relation to substance misuse, refer to, and compare, certain case studies and perspectives from Brazil to illustrate our approach which can, however, be applied to other areas of mental health. We suggest that the proposed contextual approach is crucial for an in-depth understanding of psychopathology from a phenomenological perspective and in relation to contemporary ethico-political issues concerning social differences and inequalities in mental health.

Dual pathways to high performance: Team achievement goals, cooperation, and competition in elite sports teams

High performance is a key priority for elite sports teams. With this study, we investigate the performance of interdependent elite youth sports teams in relation to team achievement goals and within-team cooperation and competition, generically defined as teams’ shared perception of the extent to which team members engage in cooperative or competitive behaviors. Integrating achievement goal theory and social interdependence theory, we propose that team mastery goals (teams’ collective pursuit of learning and development) relate to within-team cooperation and that team performance goals (teams’ shared focus on winning and demonstrating competence) relate to within-team competition. Next, we propose that within-team cooperation facilitates team performance and explore the link between within-team competition and team performance. After the winter break, 289 players from 42 elite field hockey teams completed online survey questions about team achievement goals, cooperation, and competition. Team performance was represented by teams’ end-of-season point totals. Multilevel path modeling suggests dual pathways to team performance: (1) The more teams fostered team mastery goals, the more cooperative team members’ interactions were and the better the teams performed, and (2) the more teams fostered team performance goals, the more competitive the interactions among team members were and the better the teams performed. We tentatively interpret this dual pattern from the perspective of high-level interdependent youth sports teams as “coopetitive” environments, where teams traditionally focus on learning and development and where baseline levels of cooperation are high, creating conditions in which cooperation and some degree of competition can coincide and jointly contribute to team performance.

Measuring Peer Collaboration Among Secondary School Students: Instrument Development And Validation

This study aims to create and validate a scale that measures peer collaboration among secondary school students. The study had three objectives: 1) to identify the constructs of collaboration, 2) to develop a collaboration scale, and 3) to validate the collaboration scale. The study included 363 9th-grade students, and after an extensive literature review, it identified four constructs of collaboration: social interdependence, conflict resolution, cooperation, and sharing of resources. The consistency between these constructs was found to be positive. The scale reliability was established with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.768 and a test-retest reliability coefficient of 0.71. The content validity of the scale was also established with a Cohen kappa coefficient of 0.66. The study found that differences between boys and girls can be determined by obtaining standard scores on the collaboration scale. This new collaboration scale will be a useful tool for practitioners who use constructivist pedagogy to measure collaboration.

The Economic Cultures of Fear and Love

In earlier work, the author has studied the economic role of planning horizons in making a case for complementarity as the predominant feature of social interdependence. This paper compares the different choice strategies implied by substitution, opposition and conflicts of interest in an economics of fear with those arising from horizon effects, economic complementarity and concerts of interest in an economics based on love. The contrasting implications of a psychological literature on negative vs. positive emotions and their health effects, along with the findings in neurophysiological research about how humans are hard-wired for empathy and compassion leads to some fundamental changes in how we might address and revise social problems through economic analysis. The aim of this paper is to extend a horizonal case for complementarity in the author's previous work into its psychological links to research findings on healthy cognitive function and its emotional basis. An economics of substitution yields quite different conclusions about optimal institutional forms and how we address and frame social relations than are implied by an explicitly horizonal economics of complementary social relations. Recent psychological and neurophysiological studies support a horizonal case for complementarity in social relations, showing that our orthodox substitution assumptions and models of competitive equilibrium should be rejected for a renewed economic analysis based on horizonal models of complementarity and cooperation as a means to achieve greater social well-being in a healthier and more integrative form of social organization. The issues to be explored are not entertained within the currently existing frame of orthodox economics, so we must step beyond our standard habitual assumptions.

When competitive rewards create obsessions with bottom‐line outcomes: A social interdependence theory perspective of the mediating role of bottom‐line mentality

SummaryWe rely on social interdependence theory to examine bottom‐line mentality (BLM) as a motivational state that explains the effects of competitive rewards on oppositional actions in the forms of decreases in interpersonal organizational citizenship behavior (OCBI) and increases in social undermining. In line with social interdependence theory, we also examine learning goal orientation as a motivational attribute that can weaken these effects, suggesting that in comparison to employees low on learning goal orientation, employees high on the attribute are less likely to respond to their BLMs (that result from competitive rewards) with dysfunctional behaviors, because these employees will pursue their bottom‐line outcomes with an innate motivation to learn. We tested our hypotheses with three studies: an experimental study, a multisource, field study from a U.S. corporation, and a diverse, multisource, time‐lagged field study. Results from the experimental study and first field study revealed that BLM mediated the negative relationship between competitive rewards and OCBI; the second field study replicated these findings and demonstrated support for our full moderated mediation model. We provide theoretical and empirical support for the notion that BLM can serve as a motivational state that explains the effects of competition on workplace behaviors and learning goal orientation influences these effects.

Debt and the Politics of Numbers: Hegemonic Numbers, Political Numbers, Ordinary Numbers

ABSTRACT Numbers are both shaped by and constitutive of a certain vision of the world, and household debt is no exception. Financialized capitalism relies on hegemonic numbers that serve the economic and political interests of state government and the financial industry, which see and measure debt as a market ripe for development. In the face of this, it is crucial to build alternative numbers. The political numbers of debt conceive debt as a power relation, and quantify the degrees of financial exploitation that hegemonic numbers are blind to. Ordinary numbers seek to reflect what matters the most to ordinary people. They conceive of debt as a relationship of social interdependence, which can be a source of power, hierarchy and exploitation, but also of mutual aid, reciprocity and dignity. Far from functioning in silos, hegemonic numbers, political numbers and ordinary numbers have shifting boundaries. This article, based on twenty years of research in India conducted by a Franco-Indian team of economists and anthropologists, exposes and contributes to the politics of numbers in the field of debt.

Political economy revisited: structures and objectives at the systemic level

Political economy developed from profound transformations in economic and political life. The economic sphere extended from the management of individual units, such as households or the royal demesne, to a system defined as the collection of economic activities subject to sovereign authority, and characterized by widening webs of productive and social interdependencies across manifold units. In the political sphere, sovereign decisions came to be considered in the light of the material opportunities and constraints associated with productive interdependencies. Accordingly, the principle of economic life moved from the allocation principles of the household to system-level decision-making, guided by the correspondence between means and polity-level objectives and understood in the light of the material and social interdependences in the polity. The paper maintains that the relationship between economic structures and objectives at the systemic level should become again a central object of political economy. It goes on to argue that the development of structural economic analysis since the 20th century provides powerful analytical tools to investigate: (i) the systemic objectives that polities could pursue given their economic structure; (ii) the social aggregates that could form out of those which economic structure makes possible, and the particular objectives they could construe and pursue; and (iii) the constraints that economic structure imposes on the pursuit of all objectives, be they systemic or particular.

A framework informing the interplay of physical, digital and social spaces in supporting an environment for active learning

ABSTRACT This study aims to provide insights from the STEM and non-STEM perspectives on the interplay of the physical, digital and social spaces in supporting active learning processes (constructivism, collaboration and self-regulation) explored through the Social Interdependence Theory (SIT). Specifically, the fluid movement between physical and digital learning spaces may subconsciously influence how lecturers should teach. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach, supplementing quantitative questionnaires with qualitative data from semi-structured interviews. There were eight STEM and four non-STEM lecturers from an established private university in Malaysia who volunteered for this study. Data from the semi-structured interviews were analysed using the codebook analysis as a form of thematic analysis. To this end, the seating arrangement in a classroom may indicate to students how information should be transmitted, informal gatherings build social bonds and teaching and grades may affect collaboration. In relation to the five constructs of SIT, we suggest the CPC (Cohesiveness, Participation, Collaboration) active learning framework for considering the interplay of the three spaces mentioned within the evolving pedagogies and the learning process. Specifically, cohesiveness which sits at the core of the framework, provides a pivotal support for the other two dimensions, that is, participation and collaboration.

Структура целей в классе как фактор социально-эмоционального развития младших школьников

&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;The article examines contemporary conceptual frameworks of social-emotional skills in relation to the psychological development of primary school students in ontogenesis. Based on the theoretical analysis, propositions are formulated regarding the shape of educational practices aimed to foster social-emotional skills. In particular, the relationship between the characteristics of the classroom as a social system and the development of social-emotional skills in primary school students is argued. The article describes the reciprocal relationships between the social-emotional skills of primary school students and their psychological well-being. The article demonstrates how a focus on the development of social-emotional skills can have a positive impact on students&amp;rsquo; psychological well-being as well. The article is grounded in Achievement Goal Theory and Social Interdependency Theory. It is posited that the classroom can be operationalized as a structure of interconnected elements shaped by teaching practices on the one hand and is a matter of perception of students on the other. The article proposes that the development of primary school students&amp;rsquo; social-emotional skills might be related to the teaching practices that endorse a mastery goal structure. Suggestions for further research on the relationship between teaching practices and the development of social-emotional skills in primary school students are formulated.&lt;/p&gt;

Cooperative Learning A Preventive Approach to Extremism at Higher Education, Pakistan

The study was intended to identify cooperative learning as a preventive approach to extremism at higher education institutions. In addition, explore the process of social interdependence and constructive controversy to prevent extremism. Research shows that certain cognitive, social and emotional skills broaden students’ minds and enable them to seek pieces of evidence of imposed opinions. Cooperative learning is considered as a successful teaching strategy in higher education to enhance critical thinking, psychological health and interpersonal skills. Here, a group of students works together irrespective of gender, age, culture and abilities to achieve the common goals. Further, the process of constructive controversy promotes moral and civic values among students which leads to global citizenship. The framework of this research is based on social interdependence and constructive controversy within a cooperative context, which can be a positive approach to reduce radicalization and extremism. Within the qualitative paradigm, semi-structured interviews were conducted with students of higher education to share their reflective experiences of cooperative learning. The outcomes of this study revealed that students gain moral reasoning, tolerance problem solving and critical thinking skills when they involve in constructive controversy within a cooperative context. Further, this research proposed to implement different engaging instructional strategies at higher education levels for gaining prosocial behavior, psychological health and conflict management. Accordingly, suggested mentoring and counseling for at risk students.

English Teachers' Understanding of Cooperative Language Learning and its Opportunities and Challenges in Teaching Writing Skills

Cooperative language learning (CLL) is one of the most successful, effective and extensively used learner-centred strategies in teaching writing skills which can help pupils acquire transferable abilities and motivate them to learn the language in pairs and groups in the classroom. The study aimed to explore the English language teachers' understanding of CLL and its opportunities to enhance students' writing skills along with some challenges they encounter in applying it. It was carried out within the theoretical framework of social interdependence theory. To carry out the study, the phenomenological research method was employed. Two English teachers were purposively selected as the participants for the study of two public schools in Rupandehi. The in-depth interview was used as a major technique for collecting information. The study revealed that the English language teachers had a good understanding and positive views toward CLL to enhance the writing skills of the students. The result also indicated that maximized learning opportunities, teacher as a facilitator, addressing mixed ability learners and increased interaction are the opportunities while multi-level and poor educational background of students, lack of regular professional training and collaborative culture, poor class management and less administrative support have been realized as challenges in effective implementation of CLL. The application of CLL can help revolutionize the traditional way of teaching writing skills engaging learners with the assigned writing tasks.

Teacher teams: A safe place to work on creating and maintaining a positive school climate

Creating and sustaining a positive school climate is not done in isolation but requires continuous ongoing work by several people within the school, and one of the most important actors are the teachers. In order to fulfil this very important task, the teachers need to collaborate with colleagues at school in an organized manner. In this study, we aim to explore and analyse teachers’ perspectives on how their teacher team might be linked to their school climate work, and what team characteristics facilitate their work to create and maintain a positive and supportive climate within their school. To understand teachers’ comprehension of their team, we applied a social psychology framework, using social interdependence theory and the concept of psychological safety. Data were collected by means of 14 semi-structured focus group interviews with 73 teachers from two compulsory schools in southeast Sweden. The findings revealed that teachers perceived the team as the most significant support structure when it comes to school climate work. According to them, the team was associated with shared responsibility, support and help, as well as safety and an open climate. By elucidating teachers’ insider perspectives regarding their working conditions aligned to their work with school climate, we conclude that well-functioning teacher teams are experienced as a safe place to work on creating and maintaining a positive school climate.