Knowledge that Transforms

This field study used 80 employees of a data-processing firm to examine the consequences of membership in voting majority and minority subgroups after implementation of a decision and the ability of postdecisional voice to ameliorate the negative consequences of membership in the voting minority. In the absence of postdecisional voice, employees in the minority subgroup perceived the decision process as less fair, were less satisfied with the decision outcome, reported lower levels of task commitment, and produced 41% less output than employees in the voting majority subgroup. Following postdecisional voice, employees in the voting minority subgroup reported improved perceptions of fairness and task commitment, and their output increased by 34%. Postdecisional voice had no detectable effect on employee satisfaction with the decision outcome.

The accuracy of ratings concerning ratees' strengths and weaknesses was hypothesized to correlate with the accuracy of memories concerning ratees' behaviors, although delay of the rating task was expected to attenuate this relationship. In contrast, because it was presumed that raters would rely on their on-line impressions to formulate holistic evaluations, no association between accuracy of overall ratee evaluations and behavioral accuracy was hypothesized. The results of a laboratory study (N = 262) supported these predictions, suggesting that accurate behavioral memories might help in formulating accurate evaluations of ratees' strengths and weaknesses.

Labor market variables (e.g., unemployment statistics) and perceptual measures of employment opportunity (e.g., perceived occupational demand) were used to predict the reenlistment decisions of 402 U.S. Air Force enlistees. With logistic regression analysis, 3 significant predictors of reenlistment were isolated. A combination of perceptual and objective job availability measures provided the best prediction of the reenlistment criterion.

The ability of a civil jury to render fair and rational decisions in complex trials has been questioned. However, the nature, dimensions, and effects of trial complexity on decision making have rarely been addressed. In this research, jury-eligible adults saw a videotape of a complex civil trial that varied in information load and complexity of the language of the witnesses. Information load and complexity differentially affected liability and compensatory decisions. An increase in the number of plaintiffs decreased blameworthiness assigned to the defendant despite contrary evidence and amount of probative evidence processed. Complex language did not affect memory but did affect jurors' ability to appropriately compensate differentially worthy plaintiffs. Jurors assigned compensatory awards commensurate with the plaintiffs' injuries only under low-load and less complex language conditions.