The Team Role Test: Development and validation of a team role knowledge situational judgment test.

The main objectives in this research were to introduce the concept of team role knowledge and to investigate its potential usefulness for team member selection. In Study 1, the authors developed a situational judgment test, called the Team Role Test, to measure knowledge of 10 roles relevant to the team context. The criterion-related validity of this measure was examined in 2 additional studies. In a sample of academic project teams (N = 93), team role knowledge predicted team member role performance (r = .34). Role knowledge also provided incremental validity beyond mental ability and the Big Five personality factors in the prediction of role performance. The results of Study 2 revealed that the predictive validity of role knowledge generalizes to team members in a work setting (N = 82, r = .30). The implications of the results for selection in team environments are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding why they don’t see eye to eye: An examination of leader–member exchange (LMX) agreement.

Although it is an explicitly dyadic approach to leadership, some leader–member exchange (LMX) research has been characterized by relatively low levels of agreement between leader and member judgments of the relationship. Using a combination of meta-analytic methods and primary data collection, the authors sought to explore several theoretically and methodologically meaningful factors that might account for lower levels of agreement. On the basis of data from 64 independent samples (N = 10,884 dyads), the authors found that overall agreement was moderate in nature (ρ = .37). In addition, they found that longer relationship tenure, affectively oriented relationship dimensions, and ad hoc sampling techniques showed the highest levels of agreement. Empirical results from 98 matched dyads revealed that the extent of LMX agreement increases as the length of relationship tenure and intensity of dyadic interaction increases. Implications for LMX theory and future empirical research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating motivational, social, and contextual work design features: A meta-analytic summary and theoretical extension of the work design literature.

The authors developed and meta-analytically examined hypotheses designed to test and extend work design theory by integrating motivational, social, and work context characteristics. Results from a summary of 259 studies and 219,625 participants showed that 14 work characteristics explained, on average, 43% of the variance in the 19 worker attitudes and behaviors examined. For example, motivational characteristics explained 25% of the variance in subjective performance, 2% in turnover perceptions, 34% in job satisfaction, 24% in organizational commitment, and 26% in role perception outcomes. Beyond motivational characteristics, social characteristics explained incremental variances of 9% of the variance in subjective performance, 24% in turnover intentions, 17% in job satisfaction, 40% in organizational commitment, and 18% in role perception outcomes. Finally, beyond both motivational and social characteristics, work context characteristics explained incremental variances of 4% in job satisfaction and 16% in stress. The results of this study suggest numerous opportunities for the continued development of work design theory and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lessons learned from a life in psychological science: Implications for young scientists.

Many research-focused graduate students are concerned about what seems to be a lack of opportunities in academia, as well as about how to actually begin and develop a career in psychological science. Recognizing this, the American Psychological Association (APA) Science Student Council organized a distinguished scientist discussion hour at APA's 105th Annual Convention in Chicago. Three distinguished scientists, Martin Seligman, Robert Sternberg, and Shelley Taylor, agreed to contribute as panelists. In a dialogue with the audience, they discussed a variety of career-related issues, ranging from how to pursue a career in psychological science to how the panelists' own careers had developed. This article summarizes this exchange, offering insight for all those embarking on a career in science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The milieu of managerial work: An integrative framework linking work context to role requirements.

Theoretical and empirical efforts focusing on the interplay between work context and managerial role requirements have been conspicuously absent in the scholarly literature. This paucity exists despite over 60 years of research concerning the requirements of managerial work and with the rather universal recognition that work context meaningfully shapes organizational behavior. The authors developed a theoretical model linking different types of role requirements to different forms of work context. They empirically tested this framework with a nationally representative sample of 8,633 incumbents spanning 52 managerial occupations. Findings from hierarchical linear modeling analyses demonstrated that discrete forms of context (task, social, and physical) exert significant and predictable effects on managerial role requirements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consensus in work role requirements: The influence of discrete occupational context on role expectations.

Although role theory has long described how expectations shape role behavior, little empirical research has examined differences among work role requirements and how features of the discrete occupational context may influence the extent to which role expectations are shared among role holders. The authors examined consensus in work role requirements from a sample of over 20,000 incumbents across 98 occupations. They found that consensus systematically decreased as work role requirements ranged from molecular tasks to responsibilities to molar traits. In addition, they found that consensus in these work role requirements was significantly influenced by the amount of interdependence, autonomy, and routinization present in the surrounding task and social contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability and change in person-team and person-role fit over time: The effects of growth satisfaction, performance, and general self-efficacy.

Although considerable research has focused on various forms of person-environment fit, little research has examined how person-team and person-role fit operate over time in team contexts. To address this gap, the authors examined the dynamic nature of values-based person-team fit and person-role fit. They identified several factors that influence these fit perceptions over time. Individuals were composed into teams that worked intensively over an extended time period. Results suggest that person-team fit, when conceptualized as values congruence, is generally stable over time, but perceptions of person-role fit in teams are dynamic. Individuals' growth satisfaction and performance were positively related to increases in person-role fit over time. Furthermore, the effect of performance on person-role fit was moderated by individuals' general self-efficacy. Implications for managerial practice and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can I retake it? Exploring subgroup differences and criterion-related validity in promotion retesting.

Despite recent interest in the practice of allowing job applicants to retest, surprisingly little is known about how retesting affects 2 of the most critical factors on which staffing procedures are evaluated: subgroup differences and criterion-related validity. We examined these important issues in a sample of internal candidates who completed a job-knowledge test for a within-job promotion. This was a useful context for these questions because we had job-performance data on all candidates (N = 403), regardless of whether they passed or failed the promotion test (i.e., there was no direct range restriction). We found that retest effects varied by subgroup, such that females and younger candidates improved more upon retesting than did males and older candidates. There also was some evidence that Black candidates did not improve as much as did candidates from other racial groups. In addition, among candidates who retested, their retest scores were somewhat better predictors of subsequent job performance than were their initial test scores (rs = .38 vs. .27). The overall results suggest that retesting does not negatively affect criterion-related validity and may even enhance it. Furthermore, retesting may reduce the likelihood of adverse impact against some subgroups (e.g., female candidates) but increase the likelihood of adverse impact against other subgroups (e.g., older candidates). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social and cognitive sources of potential inaccuracy in job analysis.

Although it appears that many assume job analysis information is accurate, there is considerable evidence from other fields to suggest that the types of subjective judgments often involved in job analysis may be subject to systematic sources of inaccuracy. Drawing from the social, cognitive, and industrial-organizational psychology literatures, this review develops a framework that delineates 16 potential sources of inaccuracy in job analysis. This includes such social sources as social influence and self-presentation processes as well as cognitive sources such as limited and biased information processing. For each source of inaccuracy, the relevant literature is first reviewed, its potential operation in the job analysis context is described, and propositions for future research are derived. In addition, the likelihood of these sources of inaccuracy across various job analysis facets are described, concluding with recommendations for research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple professional identities: Examining differences in identification across work-related targets.

Although there is a growing literature on organizational identification, relatively little research has investigated other possible targets of identification. In a sample of veterinarians working in a wide range of organizations, the authors compared their identification with the veterinary profession, their organization, and their workgroup. The authors found different patterns of identification across these targets depending on whether the individual (a) worked in a veterinary medicine or nonveterinary medicine organization and (b) was an owner/partner or an associate. Owners of veterinary medicine organizations identified more with the organization than with either the profession or their workgroup. Associates in veterinary medicine organizations identified more with the organization and the workgroup than with the profession. Veterinarians in nonveterinary medicine organizations identified more with the profession and their workgroup than with the organization. Identification with each of the targets provided independent predictive validity of job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)