Performance appraisal (PA) feedback research suggests that agreement of others' performance feedback with one's own views strongly determines feedback reactions, yet inconsistent results of feedback interventions motivate a search for additional influences. The authors propose that supervisor-subordinate exchange relationships create a social context that substantially influences the PA discussion and feedback reactions. Key mediating variables in this process are employee voice during the PA session and justice judgments. Structural equation modeling analyses of longitudinal data support our model. Exchange relationship showed strong, mediated effects on feedback reactions, whereas performance rating discrepancies had minimal unique effects.

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In a longitudinal study, the authors examined the role of students' rate of progress, or velocity, in goal-striving over one semester of a college-level Introductory Psychology course. At both mid-course and near end-of-course time periods, results demonstrated that velocity uniquely contributed to the prediction of students' performance satisfaction, mental focus, and goal revision, above and beyond the influence of performance-goal discrepancies and ability. Specifically, velocity demonstrated main effects on performance satisfaction and mental focus. Velocity significantly interacted with goal importance in the prediction of goal revision. The authors call for increased attention to the role of velocity in self-regulation.a pps_409 495..514Dans une étude longitudinale, les auteurs examinent le rôle du taux de progrès des étudiants ou leur rapidité à atteindre des buts sur un semestre pour un cours d'introduction à la psychologie en faculté. Deux mesures ont été faites: l'une à la moitié du semestre et l'autre à la fin de ce même semestre. Les résultats montrent que uniquement la rapidité contribue à prédire la satisfaction de la performance des étudiants, la concentration, et la révision de l'objectif quels que soient les écarts entre le but de la performance et les capacités. Plus spécifiquement, la rapidité a des effets importants sur la satisfaction de la performance et la concentration. La rapidité interagit significativement avec l'importance des buts dans le cas où l'on envisage leur révision. Les auteurs soulignent le rôle de la rapidité sur l'auto-régulation.

The authors tested 18 younger adults and 18 older adults on four sessions in a psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm, to see whether older adults can benefit as much from dual-task practice as younger adults. Task 1 involved tone discrimination and Task 2 involved simultaneous letter-matching. The stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the tasks was either 50, 150, 300, or 900 ms. Although older adults showed a larger PRP effect than younger adults, there were no group differences in the practice/training benefit. These results differ from Maquestiaux, Hartley, and Bertsch (2004, Psychology and Aging, 19, 649-667, Experiment 1), who found that age differences in PRP effects became progressively larger with increased practice. These findings, along with the simultaneous-presentation, dual-task work of Kramer, Larish, and Strayer (1995, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 1, 50-76) and Bherer et al. (2005, Psychology and Aging, 20, 695-709; 2006, Acta Psychologica, 123, 261-278), suggest that older adults can benefit as much as younger adults from dual-task training.

Psychology courses often include an experiential component whereby instructors require or allow students to participate in research or an equitable alternative activity for course credit. We investigated self-reported reasons why students chose to not participate in research, in spite of the potential incentive of earning extra credit. Our sample of Introduction to Psychology students indicated time and scheduling conflicts and motivational issues as the 2 main reasons for not participating. We discuss implications for researchers and instructors.