Aging and task switching: A meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis of 26 published articles (with 36 independent participant groups) was conducted to analyze the relationship between task-switching effects and aging. Latency served as the dependent measure. Multilevel modeling was used to test for additive and multiplicative complexity effects in local and global switch costs. Global task switching was found to add 1 or more stages to processing and resulted in a marked age deficit. Local task-switching costs, on the other hand, showed a multiplicative complexity effect but no specific attention-related age deficits. Cueing or switch predictability did not affect age differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of moisture on the dielectric properties of polyoxymethylene (POM)

The effects of absorbed water on the gamma-relaxation process of polyoxymethylene (POM) were studied using dielectric spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The spectra were measured isothermally over the frequency range of 10 MHz to 2 GHz, and the water content was varied from dried to 1.65 wt% (saturated). The strength and rate of the gamma-relaxation process increased with increasing water content, contradicting earlier studies that found this process to be relatively insensitive to changes in the molecular environment. Two different formalisms that express the fraction of contributing water dipoles to the measured spectra were compared using the experimental data. The results of the two expressions differed by approximately 20% in their estimation of unbound, participative water and both suggest that the water relaxation process is slowed for the absorbed water in comparison to free, or bulk, water. The shift in the measured spectra for the water/POM system is attributed to the steric hindrances imposed on the water molecules by the hydrogen bonds formed with the polymer molecules. The effects of water sorption by POM were used to derive the associative effects on antenna performance for a hypothetical microstrip antenna comprised of a dielectric layer of POM. It was found that the resonant frequency decreased by 7.5% for a water uptake of 1.65 weight percent     

The Reluctant President.

Coaching CEO successor candidates is challenging and deeply nuanced in the best of circumstances. The stakes rise exponentially when the sitting CEO owns the company, resents having "anointed" an eventual successor, and has been phenomenally successful despite the bruising effects of his narcissism and toxic micromanagement. This case study describes how a data-driven, insight-oriented coaching methodology helped the CEO candidate accelerate his effectiveness, instill hope in the organization, and forge a more stable relationship with the CEO--a sufficiently functional relationship for the future CEO to decide to remain with the company. Furthermore, this work highlights the importance of clinical skills and 3 coaching meta principles (traction, trust, and truth-telling). Finally, this longer term coaching engagement illustrates the dynamic role shift from coach to trusted advisor. Through this deepened relationship, coaching gains were consolidated and an objective sounding board was retained for both the CEO and his eventual successor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive coaching: The need for standards of competence.

Psychologists working in the emerging competency area of "executive coaching" must promote a more complete understanding of what constitutes effectiveness in this arena—particularly when the expected outcome is sustained behavior change. Experienced psychologists must accept accountability for the need to inform and educate corporate decision makers about the core skills, competencies, experience, and related professional issues critical for successful outcomes. These educative efforts are essential if executive coaching for sustained behavior change is to be established as a respected consultative area adding value to organizationally based leadership development initiatives. The purpose of this article is to begin the dialogue among psychologists about the need to become more proactive in their educative efforts with these decision makers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the full actualization of psychology in business.

The demands of work in this current atmosphere of globality, complexity, fierce competition, information technology, and employees' varied responses to it all constitute an unprecedented opportunity for psychologists consulting to business. Ten trends are presented to illustrate the distinctive impact psychology could have in the workplace. Absent reinvention within psychology, the author questions the likelihood of psychology actualizing its full potential in the workplace. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive coaching: An outcome study.

While executive coaching continues to mushroom as a practice area, there has been little outcome research. This article presents the results of a study that explored factors influencing the choice of a coach, executives' reactions to working with a coach, the pros and cons of both internal and external coaches, the focus of executive coaching engagements, indications of successful coaching engagements, coaching tools executives favored, and the sustainability of coached executives' learning and behavior change. The author also raises a question about which executives are most likely to benefit from this development resource and presents a typology for gauging this issue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tigers, stripes, and behavior change: Survey results of a commissioned coaching program.

This survey focused on the effectiveness of a coaching program commissioned by a global company for high potential employees who wanted to develop their emotional competence. Survey results indicated sustained learning and behavior change among program participants over an extended period. Successful outcomes appeared to be related to the careful scrutiny of program participants, a collaborative model, an insight-oriented coaching approach, and persistent efforts to brand the program as a developmental resource. This work also indicated areas of continued opportunity for consulting psychology to include: the developmental branding of coaching initiatives, the need for early career coaching, ways to connect coaching results to existing HR practices, how to deliver high impact coaching in cross-cultural settings, and the critical need for empirical research in the areas of coaching and organization-based consultation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult Age and Digit Symbol Substitution Performance: A Meta-Analysis.

This article reports the results of a meta-analysis of the effects of age, education, and estimated year of measurement on scores from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised Digit Symbol Substitution Test. Analysis of effect sizes for age reported in 141 studies published between 1986 and 2002 indicated a mean standardized difference of -2.07. Age accounted for 86% of the variance in a regression model using age, education, and year submitted as predictors of Digit Symbol scores. There was no association between years of education or year submitted and Digit Symbol scores for younger adults or older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behind the door: Keeping business leaders focused on how they lead.

The importance of how leaders lead (i.e., the individual behavioral dimension of leadership), is emphasized as a necessary component of comprehensive leadership development initiatives. Key practice factors and meta themes of an insight-oriented development model designed to influence executive behavior are presented, as well as a possible typology for recognizing certain behavioral states among business leaders. Several vignettes of executive cases in poetic form are also provided to illustrate these behavioral states, to emphasize the psychological effects on others of both effective and dysfunctional leader behavior, and more broadly to suggest the potential value of metaphorical thought as a consulting tool for influencing the effective behavior of senior business executives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)