James Beck | Faculty | People | Psychology

James Beck
Assistant Professor

Industrial/Organizational Psychology
(BS, Michigan State University;
MA, University of Akron;
PhD, University of Minnesota)
Phone: 519-888-4567 x33945
Fax: 519-746-8631
Office: PAS 4028
email: James.Beck@uwaterloo.ca
Personal Web Page: https://sites.google.com/site/jameswbeckwaterloo/home

Research Interests

My research deals primarily with motivational and self-regulatory processes. I am interested in how individuals allocate finite resources, such as time, effort, and attention across multiple, competing demands. Much of my work to date has dealt with how individuals use perceptions of ability and beliefs about the likelihood of success to efficiently allocate resources. Recently I've begun to study how non-conscious decision-making processes influence this resource allocation process. Some specific trade-offs I've studied include speed vs. accuracy, long- vs. short-term performance, learning vs. avoiding failure, and safety vs. productivity. My overarching goal is to produce research that helps individuals be safe, productive, and personally fulfilled at work.

Selected Publications

Beck, J. W., & Schmidt, A. M. (in press). Taken Out of Context? Cross-Level Effects of Between-Person Self-Efficacy and Difficulty on the Within-Person Relationship of Self-Efficacy with Effort and Performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Beck, J. W., Carr, A. E., & Walmsley, P. T. (in press). What Have You Done For Me Lately? Charisma Attenuates the Decline in U.S. Presidential Approval Over Time. Leadership Quarterly.
Beck, J. W. (in press). Does Learning Agility Vary Primarily at the Between- or Within-Person Level of Analysis? Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Schmidt, A. M., Beck, J. W., & Gillespie, J. Z. (in press). Motivation. In N. Schmitt & S. Highhouse (Eds.), Comprehensive Handbook of Psychology, Volume 12: Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Beck, J. W., & Walmsley, P. T. (2012). Selection Ratio and Employee Retention as Antecedents of Competitive Advantage. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5, 91-95.
Gregory, J. B., Beck, J. W., & Carr, A. E. (2011). Goals, Feedback, and Self-Regulation: Control Theory as a Natural Framework for Executive Coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal, 63, 26-38.
Beck, J. W., Gregory, J. B., & Carr, A. E. (2009). Balancing Development with Day-to-Day Task Demands: A Multiple-Goal Approach to Executive Coaching. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2, 293-296.

Selected Presentations

Beck, J. W., Natali, M., & Schmidt, A. M. (2012, April). Efficient Resource Allocation Predicts Long-term Performance: Evidence from the Rink. Poster presented at the 27th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists, San Diego, CA.
Beck, J. W., & Schmidt, A. M. (2011, August). Dynamic Test-taking Motivation: Effects of Self-efficacy on Time Allocation and Performance. Paper presented at the 71st Annual Conference of the Academy of Management, San Antonio, TX.
Beck, J. W., & Schmidt, A. M. (2011, April). Location-Location-Location! Between-person Self-efficacy Moderates Within-person Effects on Effort and Performance. Poster presented at the 26th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists, Chicago, IL.


	James Beck Assistant Professor Industrial/Organizational Psychology (BS, Michigan State University; MA, University of Akron; PhD, University of Minnesota) Phone: 519-888-4567 x33945 Fax: 519-746-8631 Office: PAS 4028 email: James.Beck@uwaterloo.ca Personal Web Page: https://sites.google.com/site/jameswbeckwaterloo/home

Research Interests My research deals primarily with motivational and self-regulatory processes. I am interested in how individuals allocate finite resources, such as time, effort, and attention across multiple, competing demands. Much of my work to date has dealt with how individuals use perceptions of ability and beliefs about the likelihood of success to efficiently allocate resources. Recently I've begun to study how non-conscious decision-making processes influence this resource allocation process. Some specific trade-offs I've studied include speed vs. accuracy, long- vs. short-term performance, learning vs. avoiding failure, and safety vs. productivity. My overarching goal is to produce research that helps individuals be safe, productive, and personally fulfilled at work. Selected Publications Beck, J. W., & Schmidt, A. M. (in press). Taken Out of Context? Cross-Level Effects of Between-Person Self-Efficacy and Difficulty on the Within-Person Relationship of Self-Efficacy with Effort and Performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Beck, J. W., Carr, A. E., & Walmsley, P. T. (in press). What Have You Done For Me Lately? Charisma Attenuates the Decline in U.S. Presidential Approval Over Time. Leadership Quarterly. Beck, J. W. (in press). Does Learning Agility Vary Primarily at the Between- or Within-Person Level of Analysis? Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Schmidt, A. M., Beck, J. W., & Gillespie, J. Z. (in press). Motivation. In N. Schmitt & S. Highhouse (Eds.), Comprehensive Handbook of Psychology, Volume 12: Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Beck, J. W., & Walmsley, P. T. (2012). Selection Ratio and Employee Retention as Antecedents of Competitive Advantage. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5, 91-95. Gregory, J. B., Beck, J. W., & Carr, A. E. (2011). Goals, Feedback, and Self-Regulation: Control Theory as a Natural Framework for Executive Coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal, 63, 26-38. Beck, J. W., Gregory, J. B., & Carr, A. E. (2009). Balancing Development with Day-to-Day Task Demands: A Multiple-Goal Approach to Executive Coaching. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2, 293-296. Selected Presentations Beck, J. W., Natali, M., & Schmidt, A. M. (2012, April). Efficient Resource Allocation Predicts Long-term Performance: Evidence from the Rink. Poster presented at the 27th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists, San Diego, CA. Beck, J. W., & Schmidt, A. M. (2011, August). Dynamic Test-taking Motivation: Effects of Self-efficacy on Time Allocation and Performance. Paper presented at the 71st Annual Conference of the Academy of Management, San Antonio, TX. Beck, J. W., & Schmidt, A. M. (2011, April). Location-Location-Location! Between-person Self-efficacy Moderates Within-person Effects on Effort and Performance. Poster presented at the 26th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists, Chicago, IL.