Value of peer nominations in predicting life insurance sales performance.

Obtained both work- and socially-oriented peer nominations from 117 inexperienced life insurance agents at the end of a 3-wk training course. These nominations, along with age, monthly starting pay, and final school grade were related to objective measures of sales success at 6-mo and 1-yr intervals. Only the peer nomination scores proved to be significant at both a statistical and practical level. Analysis of the peer nominations led to the identification of 3 factors which accounted for 88% of the total variance. Only 1 of these factors, the ability to form close personal relationships, proved to be significantly related to the 1-yr criteria measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leadership, followership, and friendship: an analysis of peer nominations.

"The relationship between leadership, followership, and friendship peer nominations was studied within eight sections of Naval Aviation Cadets, N = 187… . From the results it may be concluded that peer nominations on leadership are by no means a total function of friendship ties; quite the contrary, friendship appears to play only a minor role in the emergence of leadership nominations. Furthermore, followership status is not necessarily implied by nonleadership status on peer nominations." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of sociometric peer nominations in medical education research.

A peer nomination scale involving 11 variables, developed to evaluate medical student effectiveness was administered to 87 senior-class students. Overall nomination reliability was .89, correlation between peer nominations and instructor evaluations was .44, and correlations between nominations and course grades were all positive and, in most instances, significantly different from zero. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression in children: Prevalence and correlates.

Assessed the prevalence of severe depression in 3,020 3rd–5th graders according to the risk variables of sex, age, intellectual functioning, and family income. Also investigated was a set of variables theoretically associated with the construct of childhood depression. Data were gathered by means of peer nominations, self-ratings, teachers' observations, and pupil personnel records. Data from 508 of the children's mothers were also obtained from an individually administered, precoded interview. The overall prevalence rate of depression for Ss, based on peer nominations, was 5.2%. Of the 38 variables hypothesized to be in the domain of childhood depression, 18 correlated significantly with the peer nomination measure. Ss nominated on depressive symptoms by their peers were also nominated as unhappy and unpopular. These Ss also rated themselves as depressed. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Scaling peer ratings: An examination of the differential validities of positive and negative nominations.

Peer ratings obtained by the nomination technique are typically scaled by algebraically combining the top nominations with the bottom nominations. It is thus implicitly assumed that top and bottom ratings are equally valid measures of performance. This assumption was tested in 2 studies of Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets (ns = 113 and 87) by correlating several kinds of peer rating scales with a number of criteria. Results suggest that negative nominations contribute little to peer rating scales and that the frequency of positive nominations may be the most useful index. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anxiety in taking the role of the leader.

Leaders and followers were compared in their reaction to threat or "anxiety under stress." Anxiety under stress refers to the score received on the Test Anxiety Questionnaire which is a measure of anxiety evoked by testing situations, not of chronic anxiety. The stress environment—a series of naturalistic testing and evaluation—consisted of a Peace Corps training program in a small, self-contained Puerto Rican university extension center. The Ss were 50 trainees, mostly college trained and similar in age. The program provided opportunities for participation in group tasks and social interaction. Peer ratings of leadership were taken 2 weeks before the end of the 4-month-long training. High anxiety during stress rather than chronic anxiety was significantly related to peer nominations on leadership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of a peer rating system for predicting subsequent promotion of senior military officers.

Evaluated the validity of 1,236 peer ratings for predicting 886 US Army senior officers' promotion. A nomination technique within career field groups was used and produced split-half (group) reliabilities primarily in the high 80s and low 90s. Although there was a moderate degree of rater resistance to their operational use, the peer ratings were highly predictive of promotion to general, both for the total group and when education level was partialed out. Results extend the generality of peer rating beyond the previous restrictive training environment for junior officers into the realistic work situation and for senior level individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Victims of peer aggression.

Developed a peer nomination scale to assess the degree to which children are subjected to direct physical and verbal abuse by peers. Ss were 165 boys and girls in the third through sixth grades. About 10% of the children could be classified as extremely victimized. Age and sex differences in victimization were nonsignificant. Children's victimization scores were uncorrelated with their aggression scores (also assessed by peer nominations), were negatively correlated with peer acceptance, and were positively correlated with peer rejection. When children's victimization and aggression scores were treated as dual predictors of peer rejection, over half of the variance in peer rejection could be accounted for. Implications of the fact that a small group of children consistently serve as targets of peer aggression are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Methods of peer assessment.

Reviews research on 3 methods of peer assessment: peer nominations, peer ratings, and peer rankings. Each method is evaluated in terms of its practicality, reliability, validity, freedom from bias, and acceptability. Among the conclusions drawn are that peer assessment can be reliable and valid and that it is best used as part of a multisource approach to performance assessment. Peer nomination has been the subject of the most research and appears to have the highest validity and reliability. Peer rating is the most useful of the 3 methods for feedback purposes but also produces the least valid, reliable, and unbiased measurements. Peer ranking has been the least researched of the 3 methods but is by nature the most discriminating method and can incorporate nonmetric scaling advances that might establish it as the all-purpose method of choice. (69 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of peer assessment methods: Reliability, validity, friendship bias, and user reaction.

Compared peer nominations, peer rankings, and peer ratings as to reliability, validity, friendship bias, and user reaction. 145 police officers provided each type of peer assessment. Criterion rankings and ratings were provided by 33 squad supervisors. All peer-based methods showed significant reliability and validity, and the validity coefficients were not significantly biased by the friendship between peer assessor and assessee. Peer rankings and peer nominations displayed significantly greater reliability and validity than did peer ratings. User reactions were negative for all methods. Recommendations are made for collection of peer assessment data in nonpolice organizations for comparative purposes and for investigation of techniques to reduce negative reactions to peer assessment. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The frame of reference of flying instructors.

The failure rates in Air Force and Naval trainees trained side by side are examined. "The method of selection of Air Force trainees was altered at a given point of time, but… [for] the Naval trainees remained unaltered. Although no significant change was noted in the failure rate in the Air Force trainees, the failure rate in Naval trainees rose steeply. It was argued that this change in the failure rate of the Naval trainees could be explained in terms of a change in the frame of reference of flying instructors." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comments on Downey's note: Discussion and further analysis of the differential validities of peer nomination scales.

Replies to R. G. Downey's (see PA, Vol 53:Issue 6) critique of the appropriateness of 2 of the peer nomination scaling techniques employed by G. G. Kaufman and J. C. Johnson (1974) and points out potential problems resulting from the distributional properties of these scales and the performance criteria. The scaling technique questions, which involve the scale consisting of the number of peer nominations and the computational procedures for producing a scale of average weighted nominations, are addressed. An examination of the distributions of the scales and criteria and the calculation of Spearman rho coefficients indicated that the distributional problems in no case significantly affected the pattern of correlations. It is concluded that the methodological issues raised by Downey have virtually no impact upon the results of the Kaufman and Johnson studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The reliability of peer nominations under various conditions of administration.

Based on data collected for 23 trainee sections of Naval OCS students, the effects on reliability of peer nominations were studied for three variables: time the group spent together, nature of the set given, and quality or characteristic to be evaluated. Corrected split half reliabilities remained fairly constant as time spent together increased, and early-late rating correlated. 90. Difference in set made no difference. 15 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Status and independence as variables in microcounseling training of adolescents.

Studied 104 high school sophomores aspiring to be peer counselors to determine whether trainees, blocked on the variable of dependency-independency, would learn the helping skill of open-ended comments more effectively from microcounseling training in which no special status was attributed to the model. The interaction of model status and trainee dependency-independency and its effect on training outcome was also examined. Results from a posttest-only design using a 2 * 2 analysis of variance show that adolescent trainees exposed to a high-status model employed the target counseling skill at a significantly higher level than trainees whose model's status was not indicated. Independent trainees employed the target skill at a significantly higher level than dependent trainees, contrary to expectation. No significant interaction effect was found. Results suggest applicability of the microcounseling paradigm for training adolescents in a helping skill, but for maximum effect it must be used differentially. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotion Regulation Abilities and the Quality of Social Interaction.

Emotion regulation abilities, measured on a test of emotional intelligence, were related to several indicators of the quality of individuals' social interactions with peers. In a sample of 76 college students, emotion regulation abilities were associated with both self-reports and peer nominations of interpersonal sensitivity and prosocial tendencies, the proportion of positive vs. negative peer nominations, and reciprocal friendship nominations. These relationships remained statistically significant after controlling for the Big Five personality traits as well as verbal and fluid intelligence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of psychotherapy supervision on therapist orientation and values.

Research has suggested that psychotherapy skills are developed and valued depending in part on the level of trainee experience. Beginning trainees tend to value and benefit from supervisor support, whereas later trainees tend to gravitate toward technical guidance. This cycle may be repeated with continuing experience. We present illustrative data from our own research to suggest that several years after training, early supervisory experiences may still exert an effect on one's theoretical position. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training managers to minimize rating errors in the observation of behavior.

Assigned 60 managers in a large corporation to a workshop, a group discussion, or a control group. The workshop and group discussion involved training directed toward the elimination of rating errors that occur in performance appraisal and selection interviews (i.e., contrast effects, halo effect, similarity, and first impressions.) 6 mo after the training, Ss rated hypothetical candidates who were observed on videotape. Results show that (a) trainees in the control group committed similarity, contrast, and halo errors; (b) trainees in the group discussion committed impression errors; and (c) trainees in the workshop committed none of the errors. The importance of observer training for minimizing the "criterion problem" in industrial psychology is discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer nominations on leadership as a predictor of the pass-fail criterion in naval air training.

After three months of pre-flight training, nine sections of cadets (N=268) were asked to nominate the three best-qualified and the three least qualified for military leadership in their sections. The leadership scores, ACE Test scores, Officer-Like-Qualities grade assigned by officers in charge, and final overall pre-flight average were correlated with a pass-fail criterion of flight training. The leadership score and the final pre-flight average were about equally predictive of the criterion (r of .27 and .28, respectively). The other two measures failed to correlate significantly with the criterion. A rationale for the predictive value of peer ratings for flight training success is suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher ratings predict peer ratings of aggression at 3-year follow-up in boys with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity.

Compared initial and 3-yr follow-up peer ratings of 19 boys, who were in Grades 1–3 at the beginning of the study, who had attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH). When the entire group was considered, nominations on the Aggression and Likability factors of a pupil evaluation inventory improved. Subgroups were created using teacher ratings on an aggression scale. Peer ratings of Aggression improved for Ss whom teachers rated below the median on the aggression scale but not for Ss rated above the median. Subgroups reflecting other teacher and peer ratings were less effective in predicting differential change in peer ratings of ADDH Ss. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)