Consumers' Complaints: Causal attribution and moral emotions in service failures

Purpose: This research investigated consumers’ reactions to service failures, based on Weiner’s attribution theory, by simulating two situations: a teacher that is late to class and a delay in a course registration service.Method: Students at an educational service (n = 388) responded to four versions of scenarios, combining external and internal causes with teacher delay and enrollment problems.Findings: Factor analyzes inductively reflected the theoretical organization of the model: Negative Behavior, Positive Reactions, Internal Attributions, and Negative Emotions. Internal causes led to internal attributions, negative emotions and negative behaviors. Originality: The central role of moral emotions on the attitude towards complaining behavior is discussed, as well as the importance of implementing simple and low-cost managerial measures to improve the quality of care service.

The Nusantara Characters in Overcoming Negative Behaviors

Understanding Nusantara character is important to overcome negative behaviors that often occur in the hearts of community. This study attempts to explore how Nusantara character is able to overcome negative behaviors. This study is literature in nature using several Indonesian journals of psychology. The results of this study indicate that the characters are developed from subjective happiness, motivation of achievement, and tolerance. These three characters have potentials to overcome negative behaviors. The author suggests that Indonesian researchers in psychology need to meticulously investigate cultural values in certain communities and the construction of Nusantara characters. Keywords: personality archipelago, negative behavior Menelurusi karakteristik kepribadian nusantara ini penting dilakukan untuk mengatasi perilaku negatif yang kerap muncul di tengah-tengah masyarakat. Tujuan penelitian ini berusaha menunjukkan karakteristik kepribadian nusantara, sekaligus menjadi solusi alternatif mengatasi perilaku negatif. Penelusuran ini menggunakan studi literatur, diambil dari jurnal-jurnal psikologi Indonesia. Hasil penelusuran menunjukkan bahwa salah-satu karakteristik kepribadian nusantara ialah kebahagiaan subjektif, motivasi berprestasi, dan toleransi. Karakteristik ini dapat menjadi solusi alternatif mengatasi perilaku negatif. Jadi, kesimpulannya ialah karakteristik kepribadian nusantara meliputi kebahagiaan, motivasi, dan toleransi, yang hal ini dapat berkontribusi mengatasi perilaku negatif. Meskipun demikian, penelusuran ini memiliki keterbatasan yakni masih minimnya sumber-sumber penelitian psikologi nusantara, ke depan para peneliti psikologi Indonesia perlu menggali nilai-nilai budaya dalam masyarakat tertentu dan mengkonstruknya menjadi kepribadian nusantara. Kata Kunci: kepribadian nusantara, perilaku negatif

Does Emotional Intelligence Prevent Workplace Bullying? A Research on Sports Institution Employees

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and workplace bullying in the Provincial Directorate of Youth Services and Sports. 309 (215 men, 94 women) Sports Provincial Directorate of Youth Services staff from seven different cities of Turkey participated as volunteers in the research. In the study, the personal information form prepared by the researcher, the “Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale” developed by Wong and Law (2002) and adapted to Turkish by Deniz (2012) were used. To determine the workplace bullying level, 21-question “Negative Behaviors Scale” developed by Einarsen (1996) and adapted to Turkish by Cemaloglu (2007) was used. A statistically significant difference was found between the groups according to the emotional intelligence level in the sub-dimension of evaluation of others’ emotions in terms of gender variables. No statistically significant difference was determined between the groups according to the gender variable in terms of workplace bullying. A statistically significant difference was found between the groups in terms of the duration of work, according to emotional intelligence levels and workplace bullying. When the relationship between emotional intelligence and workplace bullying was examined, it was found that there were negative significant correlations in some sub-dimensions. As the level of emotional intelligence of the employees increased, the cases of exposure to bullying decreased.

Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Prospective Clinical Trial Evaluating the Efficacy of the Assisi Anti-anxiety Device (Calmer Canine) for the Treatment of Canine Separation Anxiety

Introduction: Separation anxiety (SA) is among the most common canine behavior disorders and affects quality-of-life for dogs and their owners. Dogs with SA show signs of anxiety during absence or perceived absence of their owners. While psychoactive medications are often helpful for treating SA, dog and human factors may limit their utility. This study explored the efficacy of a pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) device for treatment of canine SA.Materials and Methods: In this double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study, a screening questionnaire and baseline video confirmed the diagnosis of SA. Owners treated their dog with the device twice daily for 6 weeks, completed weekly questionnaires, and noted adverse events. Videos were taken of the dog while alone at weeks 4 and 6. Behaviors were coded and categorized as negative and positive. Questionnaire and video data at weeks 4 and 6 were compared to baseline.Results: Forty client-owned dogs with moderate to severe SA completed the study. There were no differences between groups for age, weight, or sex. In owner questionnaires, no difference in behavior or overall score was found between the active and sham groups (p > 0.05). Videos of the active group compared to the sham group showed significant reduction in negative behaviors by week 6 (p = 0.036) and higher percentage of success at week 4 (Z = 2.83, p = 0.005), at week 6 (Z = 1.65, p = 0.098), and across the full study (Z = 1.99, p = 0.047). Adverse events were reported in eight dogs (6 active, 2 sham); all resolved and were unlikely to be related to treatment.Discussion: This study supports the efficacy and safety of this PEMF device for treatment of SA in dogs. Questionnaire results may not be sensitive enough to detect subtle negative behavioral states compared to video, and may not capture other owner observed behavioral changes. A caregiver placebo effect may account for some improvement seen in both groups. Video data appear better for diagnosis and monitoring dog's behavior when left alone. Future studies should assess PEMF's impact on other anxieties or combination of anxiety disorders in dogs.

Satisfaction with life, psychological distress, and workplace bullying among construction workers

Construction workers are among workers who have to face a very dynamic work situation with a fixed deadline because they have to finish the work according to the target of completion as stated in the contract. The study aimed to compare Satisfaction with Life, Psychological Distress, and Workplace Bullying of the workers in two construction companies. This is a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire distributed to two groups of workers who work in two different companies with a total number of respondents of 588. Data collected were then processed using a frequency distribution table and compared using the Mann Whitney method to identify differences between the two groups. The study showed differences between the workers from the two companies in terms of negative behaviors, level of distress, and level of satisfaction with life. Workers in the Civil Engineering Contractor Company suffer more bullying and a slightly higher level of distress. The lowest level of satisfaction with life is also seen in this company when compared to that of the engineering procurement construction (EPC) contractor company. The result of study indicate that difference might link to more bullying actions and a higher level of distress in the construction civil engineering company, which trigger dissatisfaction with life among its workers. Thus, management should act promptly to eliminate negative behaviors as it will be crucial in preventing the increase in the number of bullying victims and the level of distress in the workplace will not increase.

Investigation of Empathy Skills and Moral Decision-Making Attitudes in Athlete Students in Terms of Some Variables

It is observed that the appearance of aggression and violent anti-social behavior in sports contradicts the Olimpia culture inherent in sports. Therefore, this research was conducted in order to reveal the causes and consequences of negative behaviors observed in sports, to examine the empathy skills and moral decision-making attitudes of athletes in terms of different variables. The research was arranged by the screening survey model. A total of 319 athletes, 180 men, and 139 women, engaged in individual and team sports in the city where the research was conducted, voluntarily participated in this research. Personal information form, “Prediction in Sports and Empathy in Sports” and “Attitudes to Moral Decision-making in Youth Sport Questionnaire” were applied to the participants. In the analysis of the data, the Manova test and the LSD test were used to determine the source of the difference. As a result of the research, while a significant difference was found in favor of men in terms of gender in empathy skills(p < .05); there was not found a significant difference in terms of sports branch and sports year(p > .05). In terms of the sports year variable, the moral decision-making attitude scores of individuals who have just started sports (0-2 years) compared to individuals who have been doing sports for a long time(9+ years) were found to be higher and this result was found to indicate a statistically significant difference(p < .05). There was not found a significant difference in moral decision-making attitudes scores in terms of sports year and gender.

Modeling multiple forms of consumer animosity through fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis

Purpose Consumer animosity toward a foreign country can affect negatively international brands. Existing international marketing research offers inconsistent accounts of the factors that explain product quality perceptions, negative word of mouth (NWOM) and product avoidance in animosity contexts. This paper aims to demonstrate that such inconsistency is caused by the fact that different explanations apply to different consumer subgroups. Searching for a single solution, thus, leads to erroneous predictions for sizable subgroups of consumers. Design/methodology/approach The study implements a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to two quantitative surveys examining Chinese consumers’ (n = 476) reactions to Japanese products and American consumers’ (n = 517) reactions to Chinese products. Findings The analysis yields novel explanations of the outcomes of animosity. Only in some causal configurations reduced quality evaluations explain product avoidance and NWOM, while in others negative behaviors co-exist with positive quality perceptions. Moreover, negative emotions’ role varies across forms of animosity. While anger is often associated with the behavioral outcomes of animosity, fear plays an important role in only a few specific combinations. Research limitations/implications General models of animosity need to be complemented with accounts that examine the multiple mechanisms underpinning animosity outcomes. Practical implications Marketers should identify which animosity model applies to their consumer segment(s) as different mechanisms require different marketing approaches. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study recognizing that the same animosity outcomes are explained by multiple mechanisms offering a more nuanced picture of the motivations associated with consumer animosity.

Will Someone Be Checking My Work? The Effect of Psychological Entitlement and the Expectation of Being Monitored on Task Performance and Misreporting

Psychological entitlement is a sense that one deserves more than others, and is correlated with a host of negative workplace behaviors. Because entitled individuals have a strong desire for the approval of others, we examine whether increasing the expectation of being monitored can limit some of these negative behaviors. We find that when the expectation of being monitored is low, psychological entitlement is associated with lower performance and higher misreporting. In contrast, when the expectation of being monitored is high, not only are these behaviors reduced, but performance increases and misreporting decreases for entitled individuals. Our results suggest that expectations of performance monitoring can be used to improve workplace outcomes for entitled employees.

The Impact of Cutbacks From a Major State Financial Crisis on Organizational Trust

Previous research has shown that cutbacks in public spending often impact the range and quality of the public services delivered, leading to negative behaviors on the part of public servants. This article examines how sudden cutbacks caused by a major state financial crisis have an impact on interpersonal trust within a special police unit. We present the results of a longitudinal case study using a combination of qualitative methods. The lack of foreseeability and reliability caused by drastic changes resulting from cutbacks has a negative effect on members’ trust in their capacity to perform.