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The concepts of generations and generational differences have received much attention in the academic literature, in the popular press, and among practitioners, policymakers, and politicians. Despite the continued interest, research has failed to find convincing evidence for the existence of distinct generations, commonly conceptualized as broad groupings of birth cohorts (e.g., 1980–2000) that have been influenced by a set of significant events (e.g., economic depressions) and labeled with names and qualities that supposedly reflect their defining characteristics (e.g., Millennials). Further, any differences that have been found in empirical studies, and that have been attributed to generational membership, are more likely due to age and/or contemporaneous period effects. Nonetheless, some researchers, employers, institutions, governments, and many laypeople continue to treat generations like they are a powerful and actionable phenomenon. We address these issues in two ways. First, we review the science of generations, focusing on what is known, what is not, and why the evidence points to the conclusion that generations, as popularly conceptualized, do not exist in objectively quantifiable ways. We also address the disconnect between science and practice regarding generations. Second, we explore alternate explanations for effects that are attributed to generations and review approaches that are both more theoretically sound and empirically supported, including lifespan theory and social constructionist frameworks. Finally, we address connections between assumptions made about generations and concerns about diversity, equity, and inclusion at work. Specifically, we address what has been termed generationalism , the belief that members of specific generations possess unique, stereotypic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proper estimation of age, period, and cohort (APC) effects is a pervasive concern for the study of a variety of psychological and social phenomena, inside and outside of organizations. One analytic technique that has been used to estimate APC effects is cross-temporal meta-analysis (CTMA). Although CTMA has some appealing qualities (e.g., ease of interpretability), it has also been criticized on theoretical and methodological grounds. Furthermore, CTMA makes strong assumptions about the nature and operation of cohort effects relative to age and period effects that have not been empirically tested. Accordingly, the goal of this paper is to explore CTMA, its history, and these assumptions. Using a Monte Carlo study, we demonstrate that, in many cases, cohort effects are misestimated (i.e., systematically over- or underestimated) by CTMA. This work provides further evidence that APC effects pose intractable problems for research questions where APC effects are of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses about the industrial organizational psychology, convenience samples in research and the advantages and disadvantages of using crowd-sourcing to collect data. R. N. Landers. & T. S. Behrend talks about convenience samples and crowd sourcing but utility in education settings is not explored.

Talk about generations is everywhere and particularly so in organizational science and practice. Recognizing and exploring the ubiquity of generations is important, especially because evidence for their existence is, at best, scant. In this article, we aim to achieve two goals that are targeted at answering the broad question: "What accounts for the ubiquity of generations despite a lack of evidence for their existence and impact?" First, we explore and "bust" ten common myths about the science and practice of generations and generational differences. Second, with these debunked myths as a backdrop, we focus on two alternative and complementary frameworks—the social constructionist perspective and the lifespan development perspective—with promise for changing the way we think about age, aging, and generations at work. We argue that the social constructionist perspective offers important opportunities for understanding the persistence and pervasiveness of generations and that, as an alternative to studying generations, the lifespan perspective represents a better model for understanding how age operates and development unfolds at work. Overall, we urge stakeholders in organizational science and practice (e.g., students, researchers, consultants, managers) to adopt more nuanced perspectives grounded in these models, rather than a generational perspective, to understand the influence of age and aging at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies have shown that process-based measures of creative problem-solving skills can be developed that evidence some predictive validity and contribute to our understanding of creative thought. These studies, however, have focused on a single process. Because multiple processes are involved in creative thought, there is a need to examine their joint impact. To address this issue, 137 undergraduates were asked to work on 2 creative problem-solving tasks and complete a battery of measures examining relevant abilities and processing skills. Solution quality and originality scores obtained from the creative problem-solving tasks were regressed on these measures. It was found that the measures of process application were effective predictors of solution quality and originality, yielding significant gains in prediction when added to ability tests. The implications of these findings for the assessment of creative potential are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies suggest that the combination and reorganization of extant knowledge structures may play an important role in creative thought. Little evidence is available, however, suggesting that performance on tasks where people are asked to combine and reorganize categories is related to creative thinking. Further, it is unclear how people go about combining and reorganizing diverse categories. In this study, 112 undergraduates were asked to work on a set of category combination problems. The relatedness of the categories was manipulated, and instructions were presented about how to go about combining these categories. Subsequently, people were asked to solve a series of novel, ill-defined problems. It was found that performance on the category combination task was related to the quality and originality of problem solutions. Further, when people were working with related categories, feature mapping instructions contributed to performance, while metaphor instructions contributed to performance when people were working with diverse categories. The implications of these findings for understanding creative thought are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the process-based measures of creative problem-solving skills. Standard measures of ability and divergent thinking skills; Discussion on the assessment of processing skills; Implications for understanding the problem construction process.

Focuses on the importance of training programs to develop the skill performance of a person. Examination on the influence of differentia; characteristics on skill acquisition; Evaluation on the stages of practice; Discussion on the role of personality in skill acquisition.

Examines the influence of personality constructs on the performance of complex problem-solving tasks. Maintenance of good performance; Factors contributing to adaptability; Acquisition of knowledge and skills.