Getting a Grip on the Grapevine: Extension and Factor Structure of the Motives to Gossip Questionnaire.

Gossip is condemned but also ubiquitous and thought to be essential for groups. This triggers the question of which motives explain gossip behavior. Hitherto, negative influence, social enjoyment, group protection, and information gathering and validation are established as motives to gossip.

When Change Causes Stress: Effects of Self-construal and Change Consequences.

Purpose: Organizational change can be a major stress factor for employees. We investigate if stress responses can be explained by the extent to which there is a match between employee self-construal (in personal or collective terms) and change consequences (i.e.

Team-oriented leadership: the interactive effects of leader group prototypicality, accountability, and team identification.

We examined the interactive effects of leader group prototypicality, accountability, and team identification on team-oriented behavior of leaders, thus extending the social identity perspective on leadership to the study of leader behavior. An experimental study (N = 152) supported our hypothesis that leader accountability relates more strongly to team-oriented behavior for group nonprototypical leaders than for group prototypical leaders. A multisource field study with leaders (N = 64) and their followers (N = 209) indicated that this interactive effect is more pronounced for leaders who identify more strongly with their team.

The carrot and the stick: affective commitment and acceptance anxiety as motives for discretionary group efforts by respected and disrespected group members.

Previous research has demonstrated that intragroup respect can strengthen people's commitment to the group and encourage them to exert themselves on behalf of it. In the present research, the authors argue that similar behavior can ensue from self-focused concerns when group members are disrespected. Experiment 1 (N = 174) confirms that high respect as well as low respect motivates people to increase their actual discretionary efforts on behalf of the group.