2017 - Reprints: Organizational Behavior and Human Resources

Although recent research has demonstrated the benefits of multicultural experience for reducing personal levels of intergroup bias, the potential for an intergenerational effect has yet to be explored. Using samples of Jewish-Israeli (Study 1a) and Palestinian-Israeli (Study 1b) mother–child dyads, we found that maternal multicultural experience was indirectly related to greater social tolerance among children via lower levels of maternal need for cognitive closure which, in turn, triggered higher levels of maternal social tolerance. These results show that when it comes to multicultural experience, its impact can extend beyond the self to also affect the next generation. Implications for developmental theories of prejudice acquisition and prejudice interventions are discussed.

Scholars have generally neglected the importance of the subjective aspects of time in the field of work stress. In this paper we analyze the joint effects of employee perceptions of subjective time and cultural, organizational, individual, and situational factors on employee experiences of stress. By explicitly considering the role of subjective time in stress research, we develop several propositions and discuss recommendations for future research. We discuss implications for organizational practice in reducing stress, revolving around the manipulation and experience of time.

People hold different beliefs about the causal role of will in shaping future life outcomes. We examine how temporal  distance from a predicted event influences such beliefs, or attributions to will. Laypersons conceptualize will as acting according to one's goals, being free from constraints. We reasoned that construal of a future event or action in terms of individual's superordinate goals (rather than in terms of concrete aspects of the situation) would be associated with enhanced attributions to will. Drawing from Construal Level Theory, we proposed that predictions about temporally distant events rely more on high-level aspects (e.g., superordinate goals) than low-level aspects (e.g., contextual factors) and thus will result in greater attributions to will compared to predictions about near events. We show that an increase in temporal distance enhances beliefs in the causal impact of will in shaping outcomes of the self (Study 1) and others (Study 3). We also show that the individual tendency to construe actions in terms of goals (as assessed by the Behavior Identification Form) is associated with greater attributions to will (Study 2). We conclude that construal of an event in terms of superordinate goals (due to the manipulation of psychological distance or to individual differences) enhances attributions to will.