L.M Thapar School of Management

The present investigation aims to test whether a greater amount of variance in creativity is predicted by the need for achievement and locus of control at the higher level of intelligence than at the lower level of intelligence. The total sample comprised 103 boys studying in the XII standard with 30 boys in the higher intelligence group and 73 boys in the lower intelligence group:, the split being made at IQ=IIO, Intercorreiations, regression analyses, and further comparision of multiple Rs'by converting them to Fisher's Z, showed that n -Ach and locus of control predicted significantly greater variance at the higher than at the lower level of intelligence in verbal and total creativity, but not in figural creativity.

Three experiments used a change detection paradigm across a range of study-test intervals to address the respective contributions of location, shape, and color to the formation of bindings of features in sensory memory and in visual short-term memory (VSTM). In Experiment 1 location was designated task-irrelevant and was randomized between study and test displays. The task was to detect changes in the bindings between shape and color. In Experiments 2 and 3 respectively shape and color were task-irrelevant and randomized, with bindings tested between location and color (Experiment 2) or location and shape (Experiment 3). At shorter study-test intervals, randomizing location was most disruptive, followed by shape and then color. At longer intervals, randomizing any task-irrelevant feature had no impact on change detection for bindings between features, and location had no special role. Results suggest that location is crucial for initial perceptual binding, but loses that special status once representations are formed in VSTM, which operates according to different principles than visual attention and perception.

The role of configural encoding in feature binding was assessed using the change detection paradigm. Experiment 1 studied the relevance of location in colour-shape binding with study-test intervals ranging from 0 to 4100 ms. Location was rendered irrelevant by randomizing it from study to test display or was kept unchanged from study to test. Results revealed differences between these two conditions at 0 and 200 ms, but not at 1500, 2800, and 4100 ms, suggesting that location was important for feature binding in the initial stages, but performance at longer study-test intervals was impervious to change in locations. Experiment 2 studied the effect of increasing the study-display duration by comparing performance with display durations of 200, 900, and 1500 ms, at the study test intervals of 0 and 2000 ms. Although, there was a general increase in the level of performance with increasing display duration, the interaction effect obtained in Experiment 1 was replicated. Experiments 3 and 4 studied the effect of sequential presentation of stimuli, otherwise retaining the design and procedure of Experiment 2. Different levels of performance in Experiments 2, 3, and 4, revealed the role of configural encoding in the binding process.

This review aims at an understanding of the binding process by synthesizing the extant perspectives regarding binding. It begins with a consideration of the biological explanations of binding, viz., conjunctive coding, synchrony, and reentrant mechanisms. Thereafter binding is reviewed as a psychological process guided by top-down signals. The stages and types of binding proposed by various researchers are discussed in this section. The next section introduces Working Memory (WM) as the executive directing the top-down signals. After that it is described how WM works by selecting relevant sensory input, followed by a detailed consideration of the debate regarding objects vs. features with the conclusion that relevance is the key factor determining what is processed. The next section considers other factors affecting the selection of relevant input.Then, we shift focus to describe what happens to irrelevant input -whether it is discarded at the outset or is gradually inhibited, and whether inhibition is a perceptual or post-perceptual process. The concluding section describes the process of binding as currently understood on the basis of the literature included in the review. To summarize, it appears that initially the "object" is conceptualized as an instantaneous bundle of all features. However, only relevant features of stimuli are gradually integrated to form a stable representation of the object. Concomitantly, irrelevant features are removed from the object representations. Empirical evidence suggests that the inhibition of irrelevant features occurs over time and is presumably a process within WM.

This research proposed to study gender differences in the locus of control (LOC) among public and private sector bank employees. LOC is a construct that examines people’s beliefs regarding the extent to which they perceive they are in control/ not in control of what happens to them. Individuals vary in their belief regarding what controls the events of their lives – self, others, or chance. 400 public and private sector bank employees were chosen from selected banks in the tricity (Chandigarh, Panchkula, and Mohali). Levenson’s IPC scales (1973) were administered to determine their locus of control. Results showed that public sector employees scored higher than private sector employees in ‘Internality’, attributing control to themselves, whereas private sector employees were higher than public sector employees in ‘Powerful Others’, implying that they felt their life outcomes were controlled by other powerful people around them. There were no differences in ‘Chance’ locus of control. A significant interaction of sector and gender was found influencing the internality dimension as male employees in the public sector were more internal than female employees, but in the private sector, female employees were more internal than their male counterparts. In fact, the male employees of private sector banks were significantly lower than all the other three groups in internality. Results are discussed in terms of the interplay between personal and socio-cultural factors in locus of control operating in the Indian scenario.

Feature binding is a process that creates an integrated representation of an object. A change detection task with four stimuli is used to study color-shape binding of sequentially presented stimuli. Given the immense importance of locations in feature binding, and noting the confound of location information with simultaneous presentation, we compared simultaneous and sequential presentations when locations remained the same from study to test and when they changed randomly. In Experiment 1, sequential presentation implied showing the stimuli one by one to gradually build up the study display. There were no differences between the two modes of presentation in this experiment, although performance was better with unchanged locations than random locations. Experiment 2 used a sequential presentation when one stimulus vanished as the next was presented. An interaction effect showed that performance was much better with unchanged locations than random locations with simultaneous presentation, whereas locations had no effect in the sequential presentation condition. Three subsequent experiments, with drastically reduced presentation time for the display in the simultaneous presentation condition (Experiment 3), with blank intervals inserted after every stimulus in the sequential presentation condition (Experiment 4), and with a mask given immediately after the studydisplay presentation (Experiment 5), showed results similar to Experiment 2. Thus, we surmise that locations are a factor only in simultaneous presentation, and not in sequential presentation, and the differences between the two conditions can be attributed to post-perceptual factors within visual working memory.

The present study aims to assess the relationship between Locus of Control and Depression. The sample comprises 139 girls studying on the XII standard. It was found that the scores on the IPAT Depression scale were negatively related to Levenson's Scale for Internality, and positively related to Powerful Others and Chance Locus of Control Scales

This review aims at an understanding of the binding process by synthesizing the extant per-spectives regarding binding. It begins with a consideration of the biological explanations of binding, viz., conjunctive coding, synchrony, and reentrant mechanisms. Thereafter bind-ing is reviewed as a psychological process guided by top-down signals. The stages and types of binding proposed by various researchers are discussed in this section. The next section introducesWorkingMemory (WM) as the executive directing the top-down signals. After that it is described howWM works by selecting relevant sensory input, followed by a detailed consideration of the debate regarding objects vs. features with the conclusion that relevance is the key factor determining what is processed.The next section considers other factors affecting the selection of relevant input.Then, we shift focus to describe what happens to irrelevant input – whether it is discarded at the outset or is gradually inhibited, and wh...

The dynamics of the market conditions globally have made not only large corporation take cautious steps in their growth trajectory but also has been instrumental in providing a platform for small and medium enterprises across sectors to integrate themselves as growth engines in the economies both developed and developing. What seemed to be a never ending growth story considering the sheer magnitude with which the small and medium enterprises increasingly started to capitalize on the opportunity provided due to consolidation among large corporate has been relatively been marred by the own issues and challenges that the SME face at their level. SME's initially considered as a replacement for larger enterprises and being promoted by governments of developed countries are increasingly losing out on the growth parameters as their focus has become sustainability and not growth. Especially in India where the SME growth story has been phenomenal the way the available opportunities had to be exploited has not happened and this can largely be attributed to the strategic vacuum especially in terms of how the SME's have been able to market their brands, products and services. With reduction in cost and increase in quality of goods and services delivered reaching a near standardization across sectors the only area where the SME's in India can develop a unique selling proposition to create a sustainable business model would largely depend on how they are able to market themselves beyond the traditional focus on cost, quality people etc. Marketing arena of today is the most dynamic with focus changing more towards below the line strategies than above the line strategies which still holds relevance in certain sectors and geographies. This study would be an effort to understand the strategic vacuum in Indian SME's with a marketing perspective as to where the companies are lacking and what are they doing in comparison with the global SME counterparts and also to analyze certain successful SME strategies adopted by successful SME's and provide a series of "NBA"'s-Next Best Actions to Indian SME's on how to exploit the marketing opportunities with the use of multiple ammunitions which are available to them. This would require a comparison from 5 different sectors including automobiles, entertainment, hospitality, retail and financial service SME's globally on their successful marketing strategies and to establish a perspective to similar Indian SME's on how they can be customized to the domestic conditions. This research paper would be a step in identifying these strategies for SME business and on how they can develop a long term competitive advantage