Cues used by raters in the rating of temperament requirements of jobs.

Could word and phrase cues in job definitions be standardized to achieve homogeneous concepts and interrater agreement in the ratings of so-called "temperament" requirements of jobs? There were 3 stages in this series of studies: (a) A review of the literature yielded 14 traits arranged in 7 bipolar pairs and defined for use in the ratings. 50 jobs were rated by 7 raters according to these definitions. (b) Inexperienced and experienced analysts applied the rating devices. (c) The 12 revised trait definitions were applied to the rating of the 2nd sample of 50 jobs. 10 raters participated. Much improved rater agreement and reliability resulted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can training improve the quality of inferences made by raters in competency modeling? A quasi-experiment.

A quasi-experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of frame-of-reference training on the quality of competency modeling ratings made by consultants. Human resources consultants from a large consulting firm were randomly assigned to either a training or a control condition. The discriminant validity, interrater reliability, and accuracy of the competency ratings were significantly higher in the training group than in the control group. Further, the discriminant validity and interrater reliability of competency inferences were highest among an additional group of trained consultants who also had competency modeling experience. Together, these results suggest that procedural interventions such as rater training can significantly enhance the quality of competency modeling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social influence and threat in confrontations between competent peers.

Five studies investigated social influence processes in confrontations between competent peers and showed a default absence of influence of a competent source on an equally competent target. This default lack of influence is attributed to the representation that competent targets give to the influence encounter, in which different answers from competent peers are incompatible, the error of the source thus being the sine qua non condition of targets’ correctness. However, an influence appeared when the representation of the task was modified via a decentering procedure (Study 1), even when controlling for alternative explanations (Study 2). Study 3 demonstrated that this liberating effect of decentering did not appear when the source was incompetent. Study 4 also examined social comparison processes and showed that independence of judgments produced the same liberating effect as decentering. Finally, Study 5 showed that the default lack of influence in confrontations between competent peers is due to the presence of a threat to the self. Indeed, the reduction of threat through a procedure of self-affirmation modified the representation of the task and allowed influence to appear. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative reliability of numerically anchored versus job-task anchored rating scales.

Compared the effectiveness with which job-task anchored equal-appearing interval scales could be used in contrast with scales anchored only by simple numerical benchmarks. 2 groups of judges rated identical lists of job-task statements in terms of both types of scales. Ratings were made on 5 sensory/physical dimensions of job activities. The reliabilities of ratings for all scales were computed by an analysis of variance approach. In a test of statistical significance across all 5 scale dimensions, it was found that job-task anchored scales could generally be used with significantly greater reliability than simple numerically anchored scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Congruence between culturally competent treatment and cultural needs of older Latinos.

This study investigated a new 2-factor construct, termed cultural congruence, which is related to cultural competence in the delivery of mental health services to ethnic minority clients. Cultural congruence was defined as the distance between the cultural competence characteristics of the health care organization and the clients’ perception of those elements according to their cultural needs. The measure evidenced both reliability and validity in predicting criterion-related indicators. Older Hispanic/Latino clients (N = 272) receiving mental health services either through integrated primary care or referral to specialized mental health care were assessed for depression and anxiety symptomatology and health status at baseline, 3-, and 6-month follow-up treatment. Results indicated that cultural congruence predicted treatment outcomes (reduction of symptomatology) independent of treatment and evidenced moderator effects with respect to depression, suicidality, anxiety, and physical health criteria. Cultural congruence was more effective under the condition of the enhanced specialty referral model than under the integrated primary care model. Results are discussed in terms of how the new construct of cultural congruence extends knowledge of culturally competent mental health practice among the older Hispanic/Latino population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of job incentives among college students.

Job goals at graduation were described, and 8 selected job incentive statements were ranked by college Ss. Factor analysis of intercorrelations among the ranked incentives yielded 3 factors tentatively identified as: need achievement vs. fear of failure, interest in the job vs. the job as an opportunity for acquiring status, and job autonomy of supervision vs. supervisor dependency. "A content analysis of incentive statements contributed by 29% of the ranking Ss (N = 267) gave three major categories: opportunity to help others, job satisfaction, and job interest and variety." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Objectives of the general psychology course.

A discussion of the manner in which objectives for the instructor of general psychology may be arrived at: the objectives of the college and the place of this course in the curriculum, job analysis of the role of college students as citizens, the student's needs and expectations, the function of the course in the eyes of the profession as a whole, etc. An outline of the general objectives for the elementary psychology course at the University of Michigan is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autonomy and job satisfaction in task-oriented groups.

Ss were placed in apparent 3-person communication structures in which written notes were used to create illusions of centrality (or peripherality) and of autonomy (or dependence). A simple task was given requiring coordination of the Ss' activities. Results indicate that "positional autonomy is a major determinant of job satisfaction in task-oriented groups." The relationship between autonomy and job satisfaction seems to be mediated by satisfaction of a need for autonomy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Grady Nia Project: A culturally competent intervention for low-income, abused, and suicidal African American women.

Background information is provided on the link between intimate partner violence and suicidal behavior, as this association sets the stage for interventions for this population. Attention then is paid to the theoretical components of an innovative culturally competent intervention for abused and suicidal, low-income African American women, entitled Grady Nia Project. The intervention is guided by the theory of triadic influence. Cultural competence components essential to implementing an intervention with this unique population and guided by this model are articulated. The Grady Nia Project is then described in detail, focusing on the context in which the intervention is conducted, the content of the 10 sessions, and treatment satisfaction and outcome data. Implications for culturally informed practice with abused, suicidal African American women are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The significance of task significance: Job performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions.

Does task significance increase job performance? Correlational designs and confounded manipulations have prevented researchers from assessing the causal impact of task significance on job performance. To address this gap, 3 field experiments examined the performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions of task significance. In Experiment 1, fundraising callers who received a task significance intervention increased their levels of job performance relative to callers in 2 other conditions and to their own prior performance. In Experiment 2, task significance increased the job dedication and helping behavior of lifeguards, and these effects were mediated by increases in perceptions of social impact and social worth. In Experiment 3, conscientiousness and prosocial values moderated the effects of task significance on the performance of new fundraising callers. The results provide fresh insights into the effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions of task significance, offering noteworthy implications for theory, research, and practice on job design, social information processing, and work motivation and performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Process of Selecting Predoctoral Internship Training Sites.

The authors believe that their present approach to internship center placement is beneficial to both clinical psychology graduate students and internship centers. The students have become actively involved and are a very important part of the process. This approach minimizes the effort of the graduate students in selecting an excellent internship and reduces the amount of work, time, and energy devoted to the process in both the psychology department and the internship center. The authors hope this approach will be of value to other psychology departments in the selection and processing of their graduate students for internship centers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of job requirements.

"This study involved both a factor analysis of job variables and the development of patterns of job requirements in terms of these factors. The major results can be summarized as follows: (a) The factor analysis of 44 variables resulted in the emergence of seven factors that may be thought of as job requirement factors. (b) The classification of jobs into patterns of job requirements (in terms of factor score level) revealed a strong concentration of jobs in a very limited number of the various possible patterns." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relative importance of task, citizenship, and counterproductive performance to global ratings of job performance: A policy-capturing approach.

A review of research on job performance suggests 3 broad components: task, citizenship, and counterproductive performance. This study examined the relative importance of each component to ratings of overall performance by using an experimental policy-capturing design. Managers in 5 jobs read hypothetical profiles describing employees' task, citizenship, and counterproductive performance and provided global ratings of performance. Within-subjects regression analyses indicated that the weights given to the 3 performance components varied across raters. Hierarchical cluster analyses indicated that raters' policies could be grouped into 3 homogeneous clusters: (a) task performance weighted highest, (b) counterproductive performance weighted highest, and (c) equal and large weights given to task and counterproductive performance. Hierarchical linear modeling indicated that demographic variables were not related to raters' weights. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reactions to unfavorable personal evaluations as a function of the evaluator's perceived adjustment.

"Pairs of Ss listened to two… persons… evaluate the personality of one member of the pair. One of the stimulus persons made derogatory remarks about the 'involved' member, the other was… noncommittal… . In one experimental condition the derogator was pre-identified as… maladjusted, the nonderogator as well-adjusted. In another condition the identifications were reversed." The hypothesis was supported that the combined information, maladjustment and derogation, summate for the bystander to produce a negative impression, but that for the involved S there is a tendency to cancel out hostility that would be arounsed by the derogation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Schmidt, Hunter, and Pearlman.

Reports an error in the original article by Schmidt et al. (Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol. 66(2) Apr 1981, 166-185.). On page 169, Table 2 has an error. The values of the mean observed validity and mean true validity for the memory test type in job family B should be .20 and .42, respectively (not .42 and .43). (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1981-22525-001.) Two studies, with a total sample size of 400,000 Ss and with the US Department of Labor's Dictionary of Occupational Job Titles (1977), examined the traditional belief that between-job task differences cause aptitude tests to be valid for some jobs but not for others. Results indicate that aptitude tests are valid across jobs, since the moderating effect of tasks(a) is negligible even when jobs differ grossly in task makeup and (b) is probably nonexistent when task differences are less extreme. Findings have implications for validity generalization, the use of task-oriented job analysis in selection research, criterion construction, moderator research, and proper interpretation of the US's Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures. It is concluded that the belief that tasks are important moderators of test validities can be traced to behaviorist assumptions introduced into personnel psychology in the early 1960's and that, in retrospect, these assumptions are false. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structural equation modeling of multitrait-multimethod data: Different models for different types of methods.

The question as to which structural equation model should be selected when multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) data are analyzed is of interest to many researchers. In the past, attempts to find a well-fitting model have often been data-driven and highly arbitrary. In the present article, the authors argue that the measurement design (type of methods used) should guide the choice of the statistical model to analyze the data. In this respect, the authors distinguish between (a) interchangeable methods, (b) structurally different methods, and (c) the combination of both kinds of methods. The authors present an appropriate model for each type of method. All models allow separating measurement error from trait influences and trait-specific method effects. With respect to interchangeable methods, a multilevel confirmatory factor model is presented. For structurally different methods, the correlated trait-correlated (method-1) model is recommended. Finally, the authors demonstrate how to appropriately analyze data from MTMM designs that simultaneously use interchangeable and structurally different methods. All models are applied to empirical data to illustrate their proper use. Some implications and guidelines for modeling MTMM data are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A six-year follow-up study of graduate students in public health education.

Using the predictors available from a study of academic success, how well can future occupational success be predicted? 19 students reported in the Barthol and Kirk study (see 31: 6666) were used as Ss here. The predictors included standardized tests such as the SVIB, MMPI, Concept Mastery Test plus academic rankings. The criterion of job success was psychologists rankings based on a study of work records of the Ss. Although those with the best preparation and MMPI profiles did the best on the ratings for vocational success. Ratings of 3 faculty judges of the academic success of the Ss predicted vocational success most accurately. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4LB40G. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Admission to Graduate Work in Psychology.

The author comments on the fact that doctoral training departments in psychology are proclaiming their intention to reduce the numbers of students admitted to graduate work because of a supposed "glut of PhDs." There is a widely shared consensus that it would be socially irresponsible to increase the numbers of psychologists on the job market. The author takes issues with this, noting that there is no shortage of human problems on which bright, well-trained psychologists might work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selecting a response in task switching: Testing a model of compound cue retrieval.

How can a task-appropriate response be selected for an ambiguous target stimulus in task-switching situations? One answer is to use compound cue retrieval, whereby stimuli serve as joint retrieval cues to select a response from long-term memory. In the present study, the authors tested how well a model of compound cue retrieval could account for a complex pattern of congruency effects arising from a procedure in which a cue, prime, and target were presented on each trial. A comparison of alternative models of prime-based effects revealed that the best model was one in which all stimuli participated directly in the process of retrieving a response, validating previous modeling efforts. Relations to current theorizing about response congruency effects and models of response selection in task switching are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)