Behaviorally anchored scales for measuring morale in military units.

Behavioral examples of how military units express varying degrees of morale were provided by US military personnel in the US and in 2 foreign locations. From these examples, behaviorally anchored rating scales were developed for 8 dimensions of group morale. They were used to rate morale of 47 platoon-sized units in the US Army stationed in a foreign location. Although errors of leniency and restriction of range did not seem severe, the ratings did show indications of halo error and only low to moderate interrater reliability. Despite these psychometric deficiencies, correlations with ratings of unit effectiveness and self-reports of unit members provided some evidence for convergent validity. Military units rated high on the morale scales were also rated high on overall effectiveness and low on frequency of low-morale activities like dissent, drug abuse, and destruction/sabotage. Members of units rated high on some of the morale scales were more likely to report high morale and intentions of reenlisting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behaviorally anchored scales for rating the performance of police officers.

Performance appraisal of municipal police officers has presented problems similar to those encountered in industrial-performance evaluation. The present study was concerned with the development of peer and supervisory rating scales for patrol officers. 58 police departments cooperated in constructing and field testing 8 supervisory and 9 peer rating scales. The psychometric characteristics of the scales indicated that they were suitable for use in evaluating the performance of patrol officers. Principal-components analyses indicated that 3 linear components described the variation in ratings for both supervisory and peer scales. While these components seemed to represent similar constructs, they were represented by performance dimensions specific to the level of observation. The generalizability of behaviorally anchored rating scales to settings other than those in which they were constructed is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behaviorally anchored rating scales: Effects of education and job experience of raters and ratees.

Studied the effects of 2 levels of rater and ratee experience and education, as well as their possible interaction, on behaviorally anchored rating scales. A total of 370 male police personnel participated, of whom 71 were sergeants and 299 were police officers. Eight dependent variables, each a 9-point behaviorally anchored rating scale describing 1 dimension of police officer performance, were subjected to fixed-effects, unweighted-means analyses of variance. Results indicate that raters' experience and raters' education accounted for most of the statistically significant effects. Likewise Raters' Experience?×?Education and Raters' Education?×?Ratees' Education interactions were statistically significant. All significant effects were weak, however, as indicated by overlaps of 82–92% between distributions, and eta-squares for all significant F ratios of .01–.03. Hence, neither rater nor ratee characteristics exerted any practically significant effects on observed behaviorally anchored ratings. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of behaviorally anchored scales for the evaluation of faculty teaching.

Presented a procedure and rationale for evaluating college teaching using behaviorally anchored rating scales. In Stage 1 (n = 38 undergraduates), 9 independent dimensions important for teaching evaluation and representative behavioral incidents were identified. In Stage 2 (n = 54 undergraduates), incidents were allocated to dimensions. In Stage 3 (n = 139 undergraduates), incidents were evaluated on a scale representing effective teaching. Items with low standard deviations were retained for the final scales. The underlying notions of the resulting scales and the advantages of using the behavioral expectation procedure relative to other procedures are discussed. (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)     

Behaviorally based rating scales need not be job specific.

Used P. C. Smith and L. M. Kendall's (1963) procedure for designing behaviorally based rating scales to develop a set of 10 rating scales for all jobs (except nursing) of an entire hospital. Results show that 20 supervisors reached acceptable levels of agreement in allocating performance incidents to scales and assigning scale values to the incidents. This agreement was particularly encouraging since any given incident described job performance outside the work area of a majority of the supervisors. The practical implications of developing behaviorally based rating scales for various jobs, instead of just one, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behaviorally anchored bias: A replication and extension of Murphy and Constans.

A recent study by K. R. Murphy and J. I. Constans (see record 1988-06380-001) found that behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) containing observed but unrepresentative behaviors biased ratings in the direction of those behaviors. This study extends the work of Murphy and Constans by adding a retention interval (immediate rating vs 1-week delay) as an independent variable. The principal finding of Murphy and Constans, that BARS induced a novel form of rating bias, was replicated. This bias was found in both the immediate and delayed rating conditions. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor scales for assessing marital disharmony and disaffection.

Two broad-band factor scales of marital distress were constructed as a supplement to existing profile scales of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory. The 2 new scales, labeled Disaffection and Disharmony, were derived from factor analysis of the 127 items comprising the Global Distress and Affective Triad Profile scales. Subsequent analyses of data from 754 married Ss confirmed both the internal consistency and temporal reliability of the factor scales. Criterion-related validity was demonstrated by documenting the scales' relationship to clinicians' ratings of 20 couples entering marital therapy. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A recomparison of behavioral expectation scales to summated scales.

Compared behavioral expectation scales (BES) to summated scales for leniency error, discriminability (among ratees), interrater agreement, and constancy of rater individual differences across dimensions. 27 university instructors were rated by their students. Less leniency error and greater interrater agreement were found for item-analyzed, summated scales. Results are discussed in terms of previous comparisons of the 2 methods and possible effects of variant developmental procedures on BES performance. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of performance feedback from behaviorally anchored rating scales.

Compared a behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) developed according to the procedure of H. Bernardin et al (see record 1976-08614-001) with a summated rating scale. Using both scale formats (designed to evaluate teaching effectiveness), 859 undergraduates rated 32 instructors during spring classes, and 314 undergraduates rated 19 instructors during summer classes. Students rated instructors halfway through the course and at its end. Instructors received feedback from the 1st rating period on either the BARS (including written behavioral observations) or on the summated rating format. Analyses of covariance revealed no format effect on the performance ratings obtained during the 2nd rating period in the spring experiment. BARS feedback, however, produced greater behavioral change among instructors than did feedback from the alternative format used during the summer experiment. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of behavioral expectation scales and graphic rating scales.

Compared ratings derived from behavioral expectation scales developed by 147 personnel management students with ratings based on graphic rating scales. The ratees were 4 college professors, and the raters were the 183 students in their classes. The behaviorally anchored scales resulted in less halo error, or alternatively, more independence in ratings of different dimensions of performance. The behaviorally anchored scales did not correct for leniency in ratings. These results were observed both among raters who participated in developing the behavioral expectation scales and among similar raters who did not take part in this process. The factor structures of the 2 rating formats were essentially equivalent in "cleanness." Neither solution was judged superior to the other. However, the behavioral expectation scale format possessed greater discriminant validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and validity of scales for assessing behavior in epilepsy.

Behavior Rating Scales for Epilepsy (BRSE), developed to assess 8 characteristics that have been attributed to patients with epilepsy, were rated from a semistructured interview with 79 outpatients (aged 19–69 yrs) with epilepsy and from an independent interview with a friend or relative of each patient. Patients and observers also completed the Bear and Fedio Inventory (BFI) for assessing behavior change in epilepsy. Interrater reliability estimates exceeded .75 for 5 BRSE scales. Convergent and discriminant validity were demonstrated for all but 2 BRSE scales when comparing patient with observer-based rating. BRSE results showed correspondence with BFI-Observer scores for most scales but not with BFI-Patient scales. BFI-Observer scores also showed little association with BFI-Patient scores. The BRSE shows promise as a time-efficient, psychometrically sound assessment instrument for further research on behavioral aspects of epilepsy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work observation versus recall in developing behavioral examples for rating scales.

Used the retranslation method with 32 supervisors from a national airline to develop rating forms. 13 supervisors employed the work observation method and 19 used the recall method in collecting behavioral examples. Results indicate that the difference in method did not influence supervisor agreement in reclassifying behavioral examples with regard to (a) dimension of job performance illustrated or (b) level of performance illustrated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of behaviorally anchored rating scales as a function of organizational level.

2 levels in a large medical center-8 head nurses (supervisory level) and 9 registered nurses (subordinate level)-independently participated in the development of behaviorally anchored rating scales. Although the 2 organizational levels identified similar behavioral dimensions, the behavioral incidents defining the dimensions were valued differently. Alternative explanations for the obtained differences are offered, and a discussion of behavioral expectation scale methodology is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

National Institute of Mental Health goals for behavioral science.

Because all health conditions for which the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is responsible manifest at the level of behavior, and all interventions must have an impact at the behavioral level, NIMH is firmly committed to the support of behavioral science. In an era in which research in areas that some view as reductionist—for example, genomics, genetics, functional genomics and proteomics, and molecular science—is especially promising, NIMH is striving to maintain a balance in its portfolio with studies that explore integrative aspects of biology, including behavior. Without this perspective, new information about fundamental processes will prove ultimately to be shallow. This commentary discusses how understanding of brain and behavior in mental illness and health calls for integrating bottom-up research that studies brain and behavior through genes and molecules, with top-down research that examines the impact of environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The behavioral science in the primary grades.

The temper of the times "makes it extremely likely… that the behavioral sciences will be taught in the lower grades." Classroom experiences are summarized. The nature of such a behavioral sciences course, the level at which it should be taught, and the qualifications of the teacher are some of the issues raised. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A behavioral analysis of effective teaching.

Characterizes classroom instruction (CRI) from a behavior analytic perspective. It is argued that effective teaching strategies also serve managerial functions through the development of stimulus control and the management of behavioral choice. The stimulus control properties of CRI are discussed, and research concerning the effects of antecedent events on children's academic performance is reviewed. A theory for predicting choices in behavior, known as matching theory, is presented that evolved out of experimental operant research. The characteristics of CRI that make it particularly suited to matching theory analysis are identified, and research applying matching theory to children's classroom behavior is reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A behavioral approach to college teaching.

Describes a program of research on teaching methods and their results, comparing these techniques with other instructional procedures. The research was conducted from the philosophical and methodological perspective of an empirical approach to instructional procedures in higher education. The techniques included using skilled students to teach other students, precise specification of curricula, continuous recording and graphing of performance data, individualized definition of performance criteria, and frequent assessment integrated with teaching. The roles of a number of variables critical to the success of such teaching activities are discussed. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)