Self-Focused Attention and Performance Failure under Psychological Stress

2002 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chu-Min Liao ◽  
Richard S.W. Masters
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Time To Event ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Significant Performance ◽  
Anxiety Levels ◽  
And Performance ◽  
High Degree

Although it has often been implied that self-focused attention plays a mediating role in performance degradation under stress, the assumption that stress will evoke self-focus has received limited empirical support. Two studies were carried out to explore this relationship. The first study, using a time-to-event paradigm, showed that a higher level of self-focused attention accompanied increased anxiety levels in the buildup to competition. In the second study, basketball novices who were instructed to focus on the mechanics of the ball-shooting process during practice suffered a significant performance decrement in a subsequent stressful test phase, whereas those who were required only to do their best during practice showed no degradation in performance. It was concluded that self-focused attention may increase in response to psychological stress, and that the negative effect of self-focused attention on performance under stress is likely to be magnified by learning the skill under a high degree of self-focused attention, which can result in an overawareness of the performance process.

scholarly journals The mediating role of hotel employees’ job satisfaction and performance in the relationship between authentic leadership and organizational performance

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-110
Author(s):  
Marija Kaštelan Mrak ◽  
Sanda Grudić Kvasić
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Authentic Leadership ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Leadership Theory ◽  
Positive Leadership ◽  
Organizational Behaviour ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
And Performance

Authentic leadership is a positive leadership theory, conceptualized under the influence of positive psychology and positive organizational behaviour movement. Although it has become a recognized leadership theory, it is still somewhat neglected in the hospitality literature. To address this gap, the paper seeks to develop and test a conceptual model linking authentic leadership to organizational performance in the hospitality context. Hypotheses were tested using hierarchical multiple regression analysis on a sample of 226 employees from 24 hotels in Croatia. The research results confirmed the positive impact of authentic leadership on hotels’ operational performance, which was mediated by followers’ job satisfaction and performance. There was no empirical support for the hypothesized impact of authentic leadership on hotels’ financial performance. The findings suggest that authentic leadership behaviours, together with positive organisational settings, characterized by flexible organizational structure, are more likely to enhance desirable employees’ attitudes and behaviours, resulting in improved organizational performance.

scholarly journals Authentic leadership’s effect on customer orientation and turnover intention among Portuguese hospitality employees

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 2097-2116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neuza Ribeiro ◽  
Patrícia Duarte ◽  
Jessica Fidalgo
Keyword(s):  
Turnover Intention ◽  
Customer Orientation ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Hospitality Organizations ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Hotel Managers ◽  
Hospitality Managers ◽  
Mediator Variable

Purpose Hospitality employees’ attitudes and behaviors play a crucial role in enhancing customer satisfaction and service quality and ultimately firms’ success; therefore, organizations must have skilled, customer-oriented staff. More research is required to help hospitality managers gain insights into the best strategies to promote and retain customer-oriented employees. This study specifically sought to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the ways that authentic leadership (AL) can affect employees’ customer orientation and turnover intention, including exploring affective commitment’s (AC) potential mediating role. Design/methodology/approach The sample included 350 employees from different hospitality organizations in Portugal. Data were collected using anonymously completed structured questionnaires available online or in a paper-and-pencil format. Findings The results demonstrate that AL has a positive effect on customer orientation and a negative effect on turnover intention. Moreover, they indicate that AC mediates the relationships between AL and both customer orientation and turnover intention. All hypotheses received empirical support. Practical implications Hotel managers can increase employees’ AC and customer orientation by engaging in AL behaviors. Similarly, management can avoid having employees voluntarily leave their jobs using more AL styles and strengthening employees’ affective bonds to their organization. Originality/value Prior hospitality studies have rarely focused on AL. This study is the first to analyze AL’s effect on customer orientation and AC’s role as a mediator variable in the relationships between AL and customer orientation and turnover intention, thus integrating all these variables into a single research model.

External Distraction and Attentional Narrowing: Visual Search Evidence

1992 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Janelle ◽  
Robert N. Singer ◽  
A. Mark Williams
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Time To Event ◽  
Anxiety Group ◽  
Search Patterns ◽  
Auto Racing ◽  
Significant Performance ◽  
Driving Task ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Distraction Control ◽  
Anxiety Arousal

We examined distraction and attentional narrowing in a dual-task auto-racing simulation. Participants were randomly assigned to six groups: distraction control, distraction anxiety, relevant control, relevant anxiety, central control, and central anxiety. Those in central conditions performed a driving task; the other four groups identified peripheral lights in addition to driving. Irrelevant peripheral lights were included in distraction conditions. Participants in anxiety conditions were exposed to increasing levels of anxiety via a time-to-event paradigm. In 3 sessions of 20 trials, measures of cognitive anxiety, arousal. visual search patterns, and performance were recorded. At higher levels of anxiety, the identification of peripheral lights became slower and less accurate. and significant performance decrements occurred in central and peripheral tasks. Furthermore, visual search patterns were more eccentric in the distraction anxiety group. Results suggest that drivers who are highly anxious experience an altered ability to acquire peripheral information at the perceptual level.

Triggering and Detecting Attentional Narrowing in Controlled Environments

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 298-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie C. Prinet ◽  
Alexander C. Mize ◽  
Nadine Sarter
Keyword(s):  
Visual Attention ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Difficult Problem ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Tracking Data ◽  
Controlled Environments ◽  
Attention Performance ◽  
Anxiety Levels ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Source Of Information

Attentional narrowing refers to a state in which operators, involuntarily and unconsciously, fail to process a subset of potentially critical information. Little is known about factors that trigger the phenomenon and how to detect and distinguish it from a related state, focused attention, where one deliberately concentrates on one source of information. The objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate the effectiveness of three factors - workload, a novel difficult problem and incentive - for inducing attentional narrowing, and (2) identify markers of attentional narrowing and focused attention. Performance, eye-tracking data and anxiety levels were recorded while participants timeshared numerous tasks. When confronted with a novel problem, participants’ visual attention narrowed towards the affected task, and performance dropped on several tasks when all three factors were present. The findings from this study highlight promising means of inducing narrowing and show that eye-tracking, together with performance data, enable real-time detection of attentional narrowing.

scholarly journals Relationship between firm ownership and performance: the mediating role of internal governance mechanisms

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 461-470
Author(s):  
Kwang Sing Ngui ◽  
Mung Ling Voon ◽  
Ee Yaw Seng ◽  
Ai Ling Lim
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Internal Governance ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Equation Modelling ◽  
Internal Governance Mechanisms ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship

This paper explores the role of selected internal governance mechanisms as mediators of the relationship between ownership and firm performance. Data from 2004 and 2005 was gathered from 177 firms listed on Bursa Malaysia. Structural equation modelling was used as the primary statistical analysis approach. Insiders and blockholders were found to compete for board dominance. Selected internal governance mechanisms mediate the effect of ownership on performance, suggesting that these were used to advance the investment interests of insiders/ blockholders. The paper provides empirical support for the interest-alignment hypothesis, arguing that the use of governance mechanisms that align the interest of managers and shareholders are more effective than monitoring mechanisms

scholarly journals Workplace bullying, psychological hardiness, and accidents and injuries in nursing: A moderated mediation model

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244426
Author(s):  
Stephen T. T. Teo ◽  
Diep Nguyen ◽  
Fiona Trevelyan ◽  
Felicity Lamm ◽  
Mark Boocock
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Workplace Bullying ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Conservation Of Resources ◽  
Psychological Hardiness ◽  
Moderated Mediation Model ◽  
Workplace Accidents ◽  
Negative Effect

Workplace bullying are prevalent among the nursing workforce. Consequences of workplace bullying include psychological stress and workplace accidents and injuries. Psychological hardiness is proposed as a buffer for workplace bullying and psychological stress on workplace accidents and injuries. This study adopted the Affective Events Theory and Conservation of Resources Theory to develop and test a moderated mediated model in two field studies. Study 1 (N = 286, Australian nurses) found support for the direct negative effect of workplace bullying on workplace accidents and injuries with psychological stress acting as the mediator. The mediation findings from Study 1 were replicated in Study 2 (N = 201, New Zealand nurses). In addition, Study 2 supplemented Study 1 by providing empirical support for using psychological hardiness as the buffer for the association between psychological stress and workplace accidents and injuries. This study offers theoretical and empirical insights into the research and practice on psychological hardiness for improving the psychological well-being of employees who faced workplace mistreatments.

scholarly journals Multiple project team membership and performance: Empirical evidence from engineering project teams

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai-Ying Alice Chan
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Project Team ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Engineering Project ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
And Performance

Individuals are increasingly involved in more than one project team. This implies that an employee has multiple memberships in these project teams simultaneously, a phenomenon known as multiple team membership (MTM). Previous, predominantly theoretical studies have acknowledged the impacts that MTM has on performance but very scarce empirical evidence exists. The aim of this study is to provide empirical support for some of these theoretical claims using data collected from 435 team members in 85 engineering project teams in South Africa. Results show that MTM has an inverted-U shaped relationship with individual performance and a positive linear relationship with team performance. When a person is working in multiple project teams simultaneously, he/she may encounter more diverse sources of ideas across all teams and thus enhances his/her innovative performance. However, as the number of MTM increases, the negative effect of task switching and fragmented attention will negatively impact on individual performance. At the project team level, a large number of MTM in a focal team allows the team members to integrate diverse sources of knowledge and resources into the focal team. This study also found that individuals’ emotional skills and cognitive skills impact on individual performance. It is recommended to programme and project portfolio managers, who often are involve in scheduling of human resources to multiple projects, to acknowledge both the positive and negative impacts of MTM on performance. Moreover, in high MTM situations, project team members with high emotional and cognitive skills should be selected.

scholarly journals Mood States and Performance in Elite Canoe Polo Players: The Mediating Role of Stress

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4494
Author(s):  
Donatella Di Corrado ◽  
Andrea Buscemi ◽  
Paola Magnano ◽  
Nelson Mauro Maldonato ◽  
Matej Tusak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Female Athletes ◽  
Sport Performance ◽  
Mood States ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Male Athletes ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
National Competition ◽  
And Performance

Sport performance is characterized by competitive stressful conditions that elicit emotional states. The purpose of the study was to examine whether stress mediated the relationship between mood states and performance. Thirty-two elite canoe polo players from four different Italian teams (16 senior males and 16 senior females), aged between 29 and 38 years old (M = 32.3, SD = 2.71), participated in the study. Measures included level of psychological stress, six mood dimensions, and performance outcome. We also detected the digit ratio—the lower second-to-fourth digit length (2D:4D) ratio—as it was demonstrated to be correlated to high sports performance. The assessment took place one day before the first game of the national competition “ITALY CUP”. Male athletes reported lower scores on dysfunctional emotion-related states and on 2D:4D ratio than female athletes. The results of the mediation analysis showed that psychological stress plays a mediating role between moods and performance. Overall, given the limited literature, the findings supported an integrative approach to the study of the linkage between emotion and action in canoe polo.

Ups and downs on the roller coaster of task conflict: the role of group cognitive complexity, collective emotional intelligence and team creativity

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-37
Author(s):  
Andreea Gheorghe ◽  
Oana Fodor ◽  
Anișoara Pavelea
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Task Conflict ◽  
Team Creativity ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Explanatory Mechanism ◽  
The Relationship

This study explores the association between task conflict and team creativity and the role of group cognitive complexity (GCC) as a potential explanatory mechanism in a sample of 159 students organized in 49 groups. Moreover, we analyzed the moderating effect of collective emotional intelligence (CEI)in the relationship between task conflict and GCC.As hypothesized, we found that task conflict has a nonlinear relationship with GCC, but contrary to our expectations, it follows a U-shaped association, not an inversed U-shape. In addition,the moderating role of CEI was significant only at low levels. Contrary to our expectation, the mediating role of GCC did not receive empirical support. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.

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