Sex and race composition of assessment center groups as a determinant of peer and assessor ratings.

Evaluated the effects of sex and race composition of assessment center groups on assessment center ratings for 54 racially and sexually mixed groups. Results indicate that there were minimal effects as a result of the race–sex composition of the group, but some assessment ratings for Black females were negatively and significantly correlated with the number of White males in the assessment group. The ratings of White males tended to be higher when the number of White males in the assessment group increased. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Victimization as a determinant of eyewitness accuracy.

Eyewitness identification research frequently uses a simulated crime paradigm, yet the witnesses in these studies are seldom themselves the victims of the crime. To the degree a witness is more personally involved (as a victim), eyewitness identification accuracy and confidence might be modified. 66 undergraduates were randomly assigned to 3 eyewitness conditions: no-theft control, impersonal calculator theft, or personalized watch theft. Whereas the victims in the watch-theft condition were more accurate than Ss in the other 2 treatments, they were not significantly more accurate than witnesses to the less personal calculator theft. Eyewitnesses' accuracy was unrelated to their confidence in their identification. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Number of verbal interrelationships as a determinant of group size.

By measuring the frequency of verbal interactions in groups of various sizes (from 5-6 to 19-20), it was observed that although the average number of interactions tended to increase with the size of the group, the percentage of relationships showed an almost linear negative relationship with size, with crucial decrements in percent of verbal interactions occurring when groups are beyond 7-8 and again at 15-16. Results are related to formation of groups for psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Crime seriousness as a determinant of accuracy in eyewitness identification .

65 university students witnessed a staged theft in which either an expensive object (high seriousness) or an inexpensive object (low seriousness) was stolen, and Ss either had prior knowledge of the object's value or learned of its value only after the theft. When witnesses had prior knowledge of the object's value, accurate identification of the thief was more likely when the theft was of high rather than of low seriousness. When knowledge of the crime's seriousness was gained after the theft, seriousness did not affect identification accuracy. Results suggest that the effect of perceived seriousness on accuracy is mediated by processes that operate during rather than after the viewing interval, processes such as selective attention and encoding. The study also found that certainty of choice in the identification task was unrelated to accuracy of choice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Constructs and assessment center dimensions: Some troubling empirical findings.

Maintains that exercise design alone serves as weak evidence for construct validity due to the complexity of the typical assessment center rating and evaluation process. Evidence that assessment ratings accurately reflect the complex traits they purport to measure has not been provided to date. To explore this issue, the interrelationships among dimensional ratings between and within exercises in 3 assessment centers were examined. 559 candidates for upper-level management from a multinational firm, a civil service commission, and a retailer were assessed on managerial skills (including communication and interpersonal skills). Postexercise ratings of assessment dimensions were correlated and factor analyzed. The resulting factor pattern for all 3 organizations represented exercises rather than dimensions. In 2 of the organizations, the mean correlation among across-exercise ratings of individual dimensions was near zero. These findings suggest that assessment ratings do not measure the intended constructs. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Utility of the assessment center as a selection device.

Evaluated the utility of the assessment center by means of the Brogden-Cronbach-Gleser continuous variable utility model. After specifying several cost assumptions, 6 parameters were varied systematically: the validity and cost of the assessment center, the validity of the ordinary selection procedure, the selection ratio, the standard deviation of the criterion, and the number of assessment centers. The largest impacts on assessment center payoffs were exerted by the size of the criterion standard deviation, the selection ratio, and the difference in validity between the assessment center and the ordinary selection procedure. Even assessment centers with validities as low as .10 showed positive gains in utility over random selection. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Number of choices and perceived decision freedom as a determinant of satisfaction and consumer behavior.

Studied how the number of choices confronting an individual influences his perceived decision freedom and, consequently, his satisfaction and consumption level. 72 college students, randomly assigned to 1 of 2 experimental conditions, were asked to select one soft drink flavor. Perceived decision freedom and consumption levels were significantly greater for those selecting from an enlarged-choice set, but there was no significant difference in the Ss' stated satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construct validity of self- and peer evaluations of performance dimensions in an assessment center.

The construct validity of final self- and peer evaluations in an assessment center was examined within a nomological network of conceptually related and unrelated variables. Data included self-, peer, and assessor evaluations; cognitive ability and personality measures; and job advancement. The evidence for construct validity was stronger for peer than for self-evaluations and for more easily observable dimensions than for dimensions requiring greater inferential judgment. Self- and peer evaluations were associated with assessor ratings of management potential, whereas only peer evaluations predicted job advancement. Implications for the use of self- and peer evaluations in assessment centers and the need for further research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temporal encoding as a determinant of blocking.

A blocking paradigm with rats was used to evaluate whether different temporal information is encoded in simultaneous rather than forward associations. During Phase 1, the blocking CS was simultaneously or forward paired with a unconditioned stimulus/stimuli (UCS). During Phase 2, the pretrained CS occurred in compound with a novel target CS that was paired in a simultaneous or forward manner with the UCS. Forward pretraining resulted in more blocking of a forward than a simultaneously trained target CS, and simultaneous pretraining resulted in more blocking of a simultaneously than a forward trained target CS. Thus, greater blocking occurred when the blocking and blocked CSs had the same temporal relation to the UCS. The results support the temporal coding hypothesis and question the necessity of predictive information in blocking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The frame of reference approach as a solution to an assessment center dilemma.

This article describes how the frame of reference (FOR) approach to rater training for performance appraisal purposes (H. J. Bernardin, 1979; H. J. Bernardin & M. R. Buckley, 1981) was applied to traditional assessment center ratings and rater training. The method by which an FOR was established for the assessment center ratings is presented, including (a) definitions of dimensions of performance, (b) definitions of qualitative levels of performance within each dimension, and (c) specific behavioral examples of levels of performance on an item-by-item basis within dimensions. The resulting FOR was used to structure the training and certification of raters with the expectation of minimizing sources of rater unreliability. Implications for assessment center reliability, validity, and employee perceptions are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perception of abilities as a determinant of performance.

Studied the relationship between performance effectiveness and perceived possession of required abilities among 64 clerical workers in a public organization. The hypothesis that high performers perceive themselves as having more or higher levels of job-required abilities than do poor performers was supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Repetition versus luminance as a determinant of recognition.

Studied the effect of repeated brief exposures of single-letter stimuli on 4 normal hearing adults to determine whether the number of repetitions of a stimulus may be varied inversely with its luminance to produce a constant level of recognition performance. This postulated reciprocity relationship was refuted: performance always declined when the luminance was reduced (even though the number of repetitions increased). However, the deviation from reciprocity was small for stimuli at or above threshold luminance, and the facilitatory effect of repetition upon recognition was clearly shown for all luminance levels employed. Implications of the findings for models of visual information processing are discussed. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal involvement as a determinant of argument-based persuasion.

Hypothesized that when a persuasive communication was on a topic of (a) high personal relevance, attitude change was governed by issue-relevant arguments, and (b) low personal relevance, peripheral features were more important. 145 undergraduates expressed their attitudes on the issue of comprehensive senior exams after exposure to a counterattitudinal advocacy that was of high or low personal relevance containing either strong or weak arguments that emanated from a source of either high or low expertise. Another 18 Ss were controls who were surveyed but not exposed to a counterattitudinal advocacy. Interactions of the personal relevance manipulation with the argument quality and expertise manipulations revealed that under high relevance (the exams were to be instituted the following year), attitudes were influenced primarily by the quality of the arguments in the message, whereas under low relevance (the exams were to be instituted in 10 years), attitudes were influenced primarily by the expertise of the source. It is suggested that an increase in involvement is associated with an increase in the importance of message arguments because people are motivated to hold "correct" and defensible opinions, and they have a better framework for things that are relevant to the self. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bargaining process as a determinant of postpurchase satisfaction.

To study interpersonal bargaining in an environment of increased realism, a shopping simulation game allowing for face-to-face dyadic interaction was created to test the hypothesis that pretransactional expectations concerning the willingness of a seller to bargain, as well as whether or not price concessions are received through bargaining, will affect postpurchase consumer satisfaction, 64 male college students served as Ss. Levels of expectation were controlled through pre-experimental instructions, whereas participation in bargaining was manipulated by programming the behavior of confederate salesmen. Results of a multivariate ANOVA indicate that both expectation of a seller's willingness to bargain and the receipt of price concessions through bargaining were independent factors that affected postpurchase satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An eight-year follow-up of a management assessment center.

47 individuals evaluated in a management assessment center in 1967 in the marketing organization of a large manufacturing company were followed up 8 yrs later. Both the overall assessment center rating and a general management evaluation of potential derived from personnel files were significantly related to position level attained after 8 yrs for 30 individuals still with the company. The shrunken multiple correlation of these 2 predictors with level attained was .58. Characteristics of aggressiveness, persuasiveness, oral communications, and self-confidence plus test scales of ascendency and self-assurance were most strongly related to level attained 8 yrs later. It is commented that while the validity of this specific assessment center for predicting advancement appears adequate, additional research is desirable to evaluate the ability to predict performance in management. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effort as a determinant of choice in rats.

Studied the effect of response effort on rate of responding and choice behavior in a 2-bar situation in 2 experiments with 17 male Sprague-Dawley rats. Exp I used a limited test session and tested at a single FR ratio. Exp II employed a free behavior situation, in which total daily water intake was obtained by barpressing. Ratio requirements beginning with continuous reinforcement and followed by sessions of FR 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 120, and 160 were tested. Relations between response rate and preference behavior were schedule dependent. On low-ratio schedules the highest response rates and preference were for the light bar. As the ratios were increased, however, response rates became higher and preference was switched to the heavy bar. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity of Army recruiter behavioral assessment: Does the assessor make a difference?

Assessment ratings of 450 soldiers by 13 US Army recruiters correlated .32 with soldiers' subsequent performance in recruiter school. Although there were significant differences between assessors in mean assessment ratings, no differences in assessment validities were found. Possible reasons for the validity findings are that the randomization test used lacks statistical power to detect actual differences in this setting, that assessor training smooths out differences in abilities related to accurate assessment, and that assessment exercises uniformly provide all assessors with good (and equal) opportunity to view behavior relevant to criterion performance. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploratory study of individual assessment practices: Interrater reliability and judgments of assessor effectiveness.

Three psychologists who regularly conduct individual assessments were asked to assess 3 individuals posing as job candidates for the same position. The materials from these 9 assessments—test scores, biographical information, and audiotapes of interviews—served as protocols for 50 industrial/organizational psychologists who rated the candidates and assessors. Comparisons of the approaches and conclusions of the assessors indicated variability in job/organizational information obtained, test instruments used, personal history information gathered, interview and the report generated, and conclusions regarding the candidates. On average, only one third of the raters agreed with the conclusions of the assessor whose protocol they were reviewing. Significant differences were found in the raters' evaluations of 2 of the assessors, depending on which candidate the assessor had evaluated. The study's design limits generalizability; however, the low interrater agreement is disturbing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meta-analysis of assessment center validity.

Meta-analysis (Hunter, Schmidt, & Jackson, 1982) of 50 assessment center studies containing 107 validity coefficients revealed a corrected mean and variance of .37 and .017, respectively. Validities were sorted into five categories of criteria and four categories of assessment purpose. Higher validities were found in studies in which potential ratings were the criterion, and lower validities were found in promotion studies. Sufficient variance remained after correcting for artifacts to justify searching for moderators. Validities were higher when the percentage of female assessees was high, when several evaluation devices were used, when assessors were psychologists rather than managers, when peer evaluation was used, and when the study was methodologically sound. Age of assessees, whether feedback was given, days of assessor training, days of observation, percentages of minority assessees, and criterion contamination did not moderate assessment center validities. The findings suggest that assessment centers show both validity generalization and situational specificity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)