The value of the interview: an orientation and a pilot study.

The most valuable interview is reported to be a standardized one, designed to assess complex, dynamic constellations of traits rather than relatively isolated, static traits. A standardized preemployment interview yielding six "attitude" scores was given to 46 workers, and validated against supervisory ratings. "It is concluded that, properly used, the interview can play a reliable part in the overall assessment of an individual's qualities." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Note-taking in the employment interview: Effects on recall and judgments.

Although note-taking in the employment interview is highly recommended, little research has examined its effects. This study investigated the effects of note-taking styles, review of the notes, and content of the notes on participants' cued recall of information and decisions made from videotaped employment interviews. Note-taking increased recall accuracy but not judgment accuracy. Being able to review notes resulted in increased judgment accuracy for those taking conventional-style notes. The content of the notes also had important implications for conventional note-takers, suggesting some benefits of recording notes using the key-points style. The findings suggest that the act of note-taking may be more important for memory and legal reasons than for improving the decisions made by interviewers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structural and psychological empowerment climates, performance, and the moderating role of shared felt accountability: A managerial perspective.

The authors proposed and tested a model in which data were collected from managers (n = 539) at 116 corporate-owned quick service restaurants to assess the structural and psychological empowerment process as moderated by shared-felt accountability on indices of performance from a managerial perspective. The authors found that empowering leadership climate positively relates to psychological empowerment climate. In turn, psychological empowerment climate relates to performance only under conditions of high-felt accountability; it does not relate to performance under conditions of low-felt accountability. Overall, the present results indicate that the quick-service restaurant managers, who feel more empowered, operate restaurants that perform better than managers who feel less empowered, but only when those empowered managers also feel a high sense of accountability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Faking and the validity of conscientiousness: A Monte Carlo investigation.

The article reports the findings from a Monte Carlo investigation examining the impact of faking on the criterion-related validity of Conscientiousness for predicting supervisory ratings of job performance. Based on a review of faking literature, 6 parameters were manipulated in order to model 4,500 distinct faking conditions (5 [magnitude] × 5 [proportion] × 4 [variability] × 3 [faking-Conscientiousness relationship] × 3 [faking-performance relationship] × 5 [selection ratio]). Overall, the results indicated that validity change is significantly affected by all 6 faking parameters, with the relationship between faking and performance, the proportion of fakers in the sample, and the magnitude of faking having the strongest effect on validity change. Additionally, the association between several of the parameters and changes in criterion-related validity was conditional on the faking-performance relationship. The results are discussed in terms of their practical and theoretical implications for using personality testing for employee selection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Counterintuitive Hypothesis About Employment Interview Validity and Some Supporting Evidence.

This study found mixed support for the hypothesis that the difference in criterion-related validity between unstructured and structured employment interviews is due solely to the greater reliability of structured interviews. Using data from prior meta-analyses, this hypothesis was tested in 4 data sets by using standard psychometric procedures to remove the effects of measurement error in interview scores from correlations with rated job performance and training performance. In the 1st data set. support was found for this hypothesis. However, in a 2nd data set structured interviews had higher true score correlations with performance ratings, and in 2 other data sets unstructured interviews had higher true score correlations. We also found that averaging across 3 to 4 independent unstructured interviews provides the same level of validity for predicting job performance as a structured interview administered by a single interviewer. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of threat in a performance appraisal interview.

Real-life appraisal interviews conducted by 92 manager-subordinate pairs were studied intensively. Reactions of subordinates were systematically obtained before and after their appraisal interviews and the proceedings in the actual interviews were carefully documented by trained Os. Measures of subsequent performance improvement realized as a result of the appraisal interviews were taken 12 wk. later. The results indicated that a manager's attempts to assist a subordinate by pointing up improvement needs were likely to be perceived by the subordinate as threatening to his self-esteem and to result in defensive behavior. The greater the threat, the less favorable the attitude toward the appraisal system and the less the subsequent constructive improvement in job performance realized. These reactions were strong to the extent that the subordinate had relatively low occupational self-esteem. Some practical implications for appraisal practices are cited. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The contribution of interview and situational performance procedures to the selection of supervisory personnel.

2 groups of supervisors (each N = 40), selected to be as similar as possible on a set of control predictor variables "known to be predictive of supervisory performance" (basic abilities test score, supervisory practices score, age, service, job level) and to be maximally different on criterion scores of supervisory effectiveness ratings, were used to try out 5 experimental supervisory performance predictors: panel interview, individual interview, group discussion problem, role playing situation, and small-job management. Each group was divided into a high and low subgroup on the basis of the control predictor variables. The predictor battery validity increased from an average of .27 for the control predictors alone to .30-.34 when various of the experimental predictors were added. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Existence and Nature of Racial Bias in Supervisory Ratings.

The purpose of this article is to facilitate a reconsideration of what the authors consider to be a mistaken belief among personnel psychologists--the belief that supervisory ratings of job performance are not biased on the basis of race. In this article, the authors reviewed the current literature, reexamined the data, and concluded that the research on which this mistaken belief is based clearly demonstrates that racial bias may indeed exist and is significant, both in statistical and practical terms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-monitoring personality at work: A meta-analytic investigation of construct validity.

The validity of self-monitoring personality in organizational settings was examined. Meta-analyses were conducted (136 samples; total N ?=?23,191) investigating the relationship between self-monitoring personality and work-related variables, as well as the reliability of various self-monitoring measures. Results suggest that self-monitoring has relevance for understanding many organizational concerns, including job performance and leadership emergence. Sample-weighted mean differences favoring male respondents were also noted, suggesting that the sex-related effects for self-monitoring may partially explain noted disparities between men and women at higher organizational levels (i.e., the glass ceiling). Theory building and additional research are needed to better understand the construct-related inferences about self-monitoring personality, especially in terms of the performance, leadership, and attitudes of those at top organizational levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What you see may not be what you get: Relationships among self-presentation tactics and ratings of interview and job performance.

The image candidates portray in the interview, via appearance, impression management, and verbal and nonverbal behavior, has been hypothesized to influence interviewer ratings. Through the lenses of social influence and interdependence theories, this meta-analysis investigated (a) the magnitude of the relationship between these 3 self-presentation tactics and interviewer ratings, (b) whether these tactics also are correlated with later job performance, and (c) whether important theoretical moderators (e.g., the level of interview structure, the rating source, the use of field or experimental designs) affect these relationships. Results reveal that what you see in the interview may not be what you get on the job and that the unstructured interview is particularly impacted by these self-presentation tactics. Additionally and surprisingly, moderator analyses of these relationships found that the type of research design (experimental vs. field) does not moderate these findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incremental validity of situational judgment tests.

Using 3 different samples, the authors assessed the incremental validity of situational judgment inventories (SJIs), relative to job knowledge, cognitive ability, job experience, and conscientiousness, in the prediction of job performance. The SJI was a valid predictor in all 3 samples and incrementally so in 2 samples. Relative to the other predictors, SJI's partial correlation with performance, controlling for the other 4 predictors, was superior in most comparisons. Subgroup differences on the SJI also appear to be less than those for cognitive ability and job knowledge, but greater than differences in conscientiousness. The SJI should prove to be a valuable additional measure in the prediction of job performance, but several additional areas of research are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of the validity of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) Personality Disorder Prototypes using FFM self-report and interview measures.

Recent studies have demonstrated that personality disorders (PDs) can be assessed via a prototype-matching technique, which enables researchers and clinicians to match an individual's five-factor model (FFM) personality profile to an expert-generated prototype. The current study examined the relations between these prototype scores, using interview and self-report data, and PD symptoms in an outpatient sample (N = 115). Both sets of PD prototype scores demonstrated significant convergent validity with PD symptom counts, suggesting that the FFM PD prototype scores are appropriate for use with both sources of data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of mindset on the predictive validity of relationship constructs.

The authors investigated the effects of deliberative versus implemental mindsets on the predictive validity of relationship constructs. Dating students anticipating the transition from university to work deliberated about increasing their commitment or thought about how to maintain their relationships after graduation. As hypothesized, this mindset manipulation interacted with subsequent ratings of relationship closeness and perceived partner commitment to predict relationship status six months later. Ratings made by those in a deliberative mindset were more strongly associated with relationship survival than were similar ratings made by those in an implemental mindset. Deliberatives' relationship appraisals were only positive if their relationships were on a successful trajectory whereas implementals' relationship appraisals were positive whether their relationships were on course for success or dissolution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Defense of tests prevents objective consideration of validity and fairness.

In defending tests of cognitive abilities, knowledge, or skills (CAKS) from the skepticism of their “family members, friends, and neighbors” and aiding psychologists forced to defend tests from “myth and hearsay” in their own skeptical social networks (p. 215), Sackett, Borneman, and Connelly (see record 2008-05553-001) focused on evaluating validity coefficients, racial or gender group differences, and fair assessment research. In doing so, they concluded that CAKS tests generally yield valid and fair test scores for their intended purposes, but because the authors did not adequately attend to (a) research design issues (e.g., inclusion of independent or predictor variables [IPV] and dependent variables or criteria), (b) statistical assumptions underlying interpretation of their analyses (e.g., bivariate normality of distributions of test scores and criteria), and (c) conceptual concerns (e.g., whether racial categories should be used as explanatory constructs), alternative conclusions about CAKS test score validity and fairness are plausible. Although all of the foregoing areas of concern are germane to each of the assertions addressed by Sackett et al. (2008), the focus here is on Assertions 6 through 8 (p. 216; hereinafter called the fairness assertions [FA]) because making accurate inferences about fairness requires measurement experts to engage in a paradigmatic shift where sociodemographic groups (e.g., Blacks, Latinos/Latinas) are concerned, whereas, for the most part, addressing the other assertions merely requires a reminder of which standard psychometric principles have not been followed (American Educational Research Association [AERA], American Psychological Association [APA], & National Council on Measurement in Education [NCME], 1999). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of interview and self-report methods for the assessment of borderline personality disorder criteria.

Interview methods are widely regarded as the standard for the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD), whereas self-report methods are considered a time-efficient alternative. However, the relative validity of these methods has not been sufficiently tested. The current study used data from the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality disorder Study to compare diagnostic base rates and the relative validity of interview and self-report methods for assessing functional outcome in BPD. Although self-report yielded higher base rates of criteria endorsement, results did not support the common assumption that diagnostic interviews are more valid than self-reports, but instead indicated the combined use of these methods optimally identifies BPD criteria. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigating the validity of the Draw-A-Person: Screening procedure for emotional disturbance: A measurement validation study with high-risk youth.

This validity study examined the extent to which the Draw-A-Person: Screening Procedure for Emotional Disturbance (DAP:SPED; J. A. Naglieri, T. J. McNeish, & A. N. Bardos, 1991) was a significant predictor of behavioral functioning within a clinical sample of 68 latency-age children (6-12 years old) receiving counseling services at outpatient and residential treatment facilities. Study results showed that the total DAP:SPED (man, woman, and self scores summed) was a significant predictor in explaining variation in internalizing behavioral disturbance. Specifically, the DAP:SPED remained a moderate strength predictor of internalizing behavioral disturbance after controlling for the Child and Adolescent Adjustment Profile parent-report behavioral measure. Findings lend preliminary support to the DAR:SPED's validity in providing assessment information about child behavioral functioning. Continued validation investigation along these lines is recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an understanding of situational judgment item validity and group differences.

This paper evaluates 2 adjustments to common scoring approaches for situational judgment tests (SJTs). These adjustments can result in substantial improvements to item validity, reductions in mean racial differences, and resistance to coaching designed to improve scores. The first adjustment, applicable to SJTs that use Likert scales, controls for elevation and scatter (Cronbach & Gleser, 1953). This adjustment improves item validity. Also, because there is a White–Black mean difference in the preference for extreme responses on Likert scales (Bachman & O'Malley, 1984), these adjustments substantially reduce White–Black mean score differences. Furthermore, this adjustment often eliminates the score elevation associated with the coaching strategy of avoiding extreme responses (Cullen, Sackett, & Lievens, 2006). Item validity is shown to have a U-shaped relationship with item means. This holds both for SJTs with Likert score response formats and for SJTs where respondents identify the best and worst response option. Given the U-shaped relationship, the second adjustment is to drop items with midrange item means. This permits the SJT to be shortened, sometimes dramatically, without necessarily harming validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of participatory and supervisory leadership on group creativity.

This study compares the creativity of 4-man groups under 2 conditions of leadership. The Ss were 90 freshmen and sophomore Navy ROTC midshipmen and 30 NROTC seniors who served as group leaders. In 15 of the groups, the leaders acted as chairmen who directed the group discussions and contributed to the task solution. In the other 15 groups, leaders acted in a supervisory capacity: they directed and guided group discussion and they were allowed to encourage members or to reject ideas, but the leaders were prohibited from contributing to the solution of the task. Groups having participatory leaders were generally superior in quantity of output while groups under supervisory leaders were superior in the quality of the product. Although leaders in the 2 conditions did not differ in their satisfaction with the group product, the participatory leaders were more satisfied with their own individual contribution to the task. The leadership styles did not produce differences in the members' esteem for the leader or in the members' morale and satisfaction with the task. Differences were found in the influence of the leader intelligence and ability scores on group creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The validity and incremental validity of knowledge tests, low-fidelity simulations, and high-fidelity simulations for predicting job performance in advanced-level high-stakes selection.

In high-stakes selection among candidates with considerable domain-specific knowledge and experience, investigations of whether high-fidelity simulations (assessment centers; ACs) have incremental validity over low-fidelity simulations (situational judgment tests; SJTs) are lacking. Therefore, this article integrates research on the validity of knowledge tests, low-fidelity simulations, and high-fidelity simulations in advanced-level high-stakes settings. A model and hypotheses of how these 3 predictors work in combination to predict job performance were developed. In a sample of 196 applicants, all 3 predictors were significantly related to job performance. Both the SJT and the AC had incremental validity over the knowledge test. Moreover, the AC had incremental validity over the SJT. Model tests showed that the SJT fully mediated the effects of declarative knowledge on job performance, whereas the AC partially mediated the effects of the SJT. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)