Cross‐Cultural Integrity Testing as a Marker of Regional Corruption Rates

Despite the extensive research on integrity testing in personnel psychology, very little cross‐cultural evidence is currently available. The present study compares mean integrity test scores across 27 countries, based on data collected from 60,952 job applicants, and examines the relationship between these scores and a comparative index of country‐level corruption as a broad measure of cross‐cultural validity. G. S. Hofstede's cultural dimension indices are then used to explain these findings. The results indicate significant variance between cross‐cultural integrity test scores overall, and that this variance is significantly related to country levels of corruption (r=?.48), as well as Hofstede's power distance and collectivism dimensions, as hypothesized. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Phenomenology of Bodily Integrity in Disfiguring Breast Cancer

In this paper, I explore the meaning of bodily integrity in disfiguring breast cancer. Bodily integrity is a normative principle precisely because it does not simply refer to actual physical or functional intactness. It rather indicates what should be regarded and respected as inviolable in vulnerable and damageable bodies. I will argue that this normative inviolability or wholeness can be based upon a person's embodied experience of wholeness. This phenomenological stance differs from the liberal view that identifies respect for integrity with respect for autonomy (resulting in an invalidation of bodily integrity's proper normative meaning), as well as from the view that bodily integrity is based upon ideologies of wholeness (which runs the risk of being disadvantageous to women). I propose that bodily integrity involves a process of identification between the experience of one's body as “Leib” and the experience of one's body as “Körper.” If identification fails or is not possible, one's integrity is threatened. This idea of bodily integrity can support breast cancer patients and survivors in making decisions about possible corrective interventions. To implement this idea in oncology care, empirical‐phenomenological research needs to establish how breast cancer patients express their embodied self‐experiences.     

Apparatus for Smoking Kymograph Drum Papers

In a computer simulation study, random samples from a uniform density were substituted for each of two independent samples from normal and various nonnormal densities. This procedure was compared with conventional ranking and with Bell and Doksum's (1965) procedure, which substituted random normal deviates for initial sample values. After performing the Student t test, the program transformed the initial scores and performed additional t tests on ranks, random uniform scores, and random normal scores. For several distributions, the test on random normal scores was more powerful than the others, consistent with known asymptotic results. The probabilities of Type I and Type II errors of the test on random uniform scores were nearly the same as those of the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test, for all distributions examined.     

THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF OVERT AND COVERT INTEGRITY TESTS TO COACHING AND FAKING

Abstract— Although previous research has indicated that faking can affect integrity test scores, the effects of coaching on integrity test scores have never been examined We conducted a between-subjects experiment to assess the effects of coaching and faking instructions on an overt and a covert integrity test Coaching provided simple rules to follow when answering test items and instructions on how to avoid elevated validity scale scores There were five instruction conditions "just take,""fake good,""coach overt,""coach covert," and coach both All subjects completed both overt and covert tests and a measure of intelligence Results provided strong evidence for the coachability of the overt integrity test, over and above the much smaller elevation in the faking condition The covert test apparently could be neither coached nor faked successfully Scores on both integrity tests tended to be positively correlated with intelligence in the coaching and faking conditions We discuss the generalizability of these results to other samples and other integrity tests, and the relevance of the coachability of integrity tests to the ongoing debate concerning the prediction of counterproductive behavior     

Integrity Tests and the Five‐Factor Model of Personality: A Review and Empirical Test of Two Alternative Positions

The psychological meaning of integrity test scores has been explored predominantly in relation to the five‐factor model of personality (FFM). Two alternative positions on this topic can be identified in the literature which state, respectively, that integrity tests measure (a) a higher‐order factor of personality covering three FFM dimensions or (b) a linear composite of numerous facets from various domains within the FFM. An empirical test of these alternative positions, using structural equation modeling, revealed that the value of both views depended on the type of integrity test examined. With a personality‐based integrity test, position (a) had to be refuted, whereas position (b) was strongly supported. There was also more supportive evidence for position (b) with an overt test, but the difference was far less pronounced than for the personality‐based measure. Possible consequences for theories on the role of personality in personnel selection are discussed.     

THE EFFECTS OF CONTINGENT AND NONCONTINGENT REWARDS ON THE I.Q. SCORES OF CHILDREN OF ABOVE-AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE1

This study investigated the effects of candy reinforcement on I.Q. test scores in first and second graders of above-average intelligence. Thirty-six subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups and either given candy contingent on correct responses, noncontingently, or not given candy. After measuring all subjects on Form L of the revised Stanford Binet, each subject in the contingent group was given an M & M immediately following each correct answer on Form M, while a yoked-comparison subject received the same number of M & M's before responding to a question and therefore without regard to correctness of answers. It was expected that both types of candy administration would produce higher I.Q. change scores than the no-candy control group, but there were no statistically significant differences among the three treatments. The differences between the first and second test scores were 4.17 (contingent), 4.67 (noncontingent), and 1.00 (no reinforcement). Reasons for this failure to replicate previous findings were discussed.     

A Research Note on the Incremental Validity of Job Knowledge and Integrity Tests for Predicting Maximal Performance

In a sample of industrial job applicants, relationships among scores on an integrity test, a job knowledge measure, and maximal performance as assessed by a work sample measure were investigated. The observed correlation between the personality-based integrity test and maximal performance was .27, indicating that integrity tests can be predictive of maximal performance. Furthermore, integrity test scores correlated .14 with job knowledge and job knowledge scores had a validity of .36 for maximal performance. Theoretical implications for the maximal/typical performance distinction are discussed.     

The Use of Safety Suitability Tests for The Assessment of Immigrant and Majority Group Job Applicants

Safety jobs, meaning jobs where employees are responsible for the safety of customers, other employees and/or public in general are of special importance for our present society and deserve continued attention from I/O psychologists. The central question addressed in this study is whether the scores on safety suitability tests are comparable for immigrants and majority group members. Use was made of test data on first‐generation immigrants (N=786) and majority group members (N=584) who applied for blue collar jobs at the Dutch Railways and at regional bus companies. The tests used measured selective attention, attentional speed, continuous attention, perceptual‐motor ability and general mental ability. Immigrants' mean scores are systematically below the level of the mean scores of the majority group. The tests appear to have a strong dimensional comparability between the different groups. There is very little indication of test bias. The increasing number of immigrants and the increase of safety jobs pose challenges for selection psychologists. It is suggested that continued use of safety suitability tests is needed to keep the number of safety accidents at a minimum.     

Do clever brains age more slowly? Further exploration of a nun result

Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that individuals who have higher levels of mental ability in youth experience a slower cognitive decline as they grow old. In a sample of 3,263 Newcastle residents, average scores on a vocabulary test (Raven's 1965 ‘Mill Hill A') did not vary, while average scores on a test of fluid mental ability (the Heim, 1970, AH 4 (1) group intelligence test) sharply declined with age from 49 to 92 years. In young adults, Mill Hill A scores are good proxies for AH 4 (1) scores. This relationship allowed individuals' youthful AH 4 (1) test scores to be estimated from their current, unchanged, Mill Hill A scores so that age‐related changes in AH 4 test scores over the adult life‐span could be estimated and compared between high and low ability groups, men and women, and individuals of different levels of socio‐economic advantage. The cross‐sectional estimated rate of age‐related decline in general mental ability was found to be the same for people of all levels of ability and socio‐economic advantage, and not to differ between men and women.     

The Measurement of Empathic Ability in Normal and Atypical Five and Six Year Old Boys

Eight atypical and eight normal five and six year old boys were tested for differences in empathy using Borke's Interpersonal Awareness Test (IAT). This test, consisting of two parts, requires the subject (s) to predict a cartoon character's emotions based on narrated situations. Part 1 involves asking the S to predict how others' behavior would affect the cartoon character (Johnny); Part II requires the S to predict how his own actions would affect Johnny. The IAT score means for both groups on Part I were similar. On Part II the atypical group scored the same as on Part I, but the normal subjects' scores increased. Inspection of the data revealed that on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test the atypical S's variance was five times greater than the normal S', and that IQ significantly correlated with performance on Part II. Controlling for the effects of IQ, an analysis of covariance indicated no significant differences between the normal and atypical groups on Part I or Part II. This apparent lack of differences is inconsistent with the literature indicating that autistic-like children have difficulty relating with others on an affective level. The implications of these findings for further investigation of empathy in autistic children and children with childhood onset pervasive developmental disorder are discussed.     

Effect of video self‐monitoring on procedural integrity

A video self‐monitoring treatment package was used to evaluate the procedural integrity of staff implementing behavioral guidelines for one child with autism. Staff members with low procedural integrity scores were asked to participate. The treatment package incorporated an implementation video which reviewed the relevant behavioral guidelines and a procedural integrity monitoring system. Each participant was taught to score a pre‐training video, which highlighted components of implementing behavioral guidelines, with a procedural integrity tool denoting correct implementation of the procedures. The participant then scored their own baseline video using a similar tool constructed to highlight the target student's behavior plan. Participant scores were compared to experimenter scores and verbal feedback was given by the experimenter if the scores varied. Results showed increased procedural integrity implementing the behavior guidelines from baseline to 100% implementation for two out of three participants. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changing men's male gender-role attitudes by applying the elaboration likelihood model of attitude change

The traditional male gender role has been associated with a host of psychological and physical problems. In this study, 118 male university students viewed one of two videotaped interventions based on R. E. Petty and J. T. Cacioppo's [(1986) Communication and Persuasion: Central and Peripheral Routes to Attitude Change, New York: Springer-Verlag) elaboration likelihood model of attitude change (ELM) or were in a control group. One intervention was designed to create less traditional male gender-role attitudes, the other to enhance participants' attitudes toward seeking psychological help. Both interventions significantly changed male gender-role attitudes on Brannon Masculinity Scale scores, but not their Gender Role Conflict Scale—I scores, and neither influenced help-seeking attitudes. The overall pattern of scores suggests that men's attitudes about the male role may be less resistant to change than attitudes about one's own gender role or one's fear of femininity.     

When I Was Born: Perceived Parental Reactions of Adolescents

A 32-item multiple choice test, When I Was Born, was designed to measure adolescents' perceptions of parental reactions at the time of their births. A total of 372 subjects, ages 11 through 20 years, were administered the test. The population included 140 physically normal subjects, 97 adolescents with acquired physical problems, and 135 subjects with congenital physical anomalies. Factor analyses of test data using 100 normal subjects as the criterion population identified four factors: Parental Emotion, Parental Apprehension, Parental Pride, and Parental Nurturance. On all four factors, normal subjects had the highest scores, and subjects with congenital anomalies had the lowest scores. The findings suggest that the test measures both adolescents' projected feelings about parental reactions at their birth and the current impact of a physical problem on the child.     

Individual Differences in Coping with Stressful Mass Media An Activation-Arousal View

In this article, we summarize recent advances in the study of behavioral dispositions by detailing the activation-arousal framework. This approach locates the origin of behavioral traits in the activation and arousal systems and, consequently, it offers a more fundamental explanation of personality traits than is typically seen in the mass communication literature. In the interest of applying this view, we propose the Miller Behavioral Style Scale (MBSS) as a measure of an individual's tendency toward activation or arousal. Study I was conducted to test the prediction that scores on the MBSS would be related to the intensity of negative affect during a film segment from Nightmare on Elm Street. The results were encouraging in that the predicted relationship emerged between the MBSS and skin conductance responses. Study U was conducted to test the prediction that scores on the MBSS would be related to information-seeking of highly negative emotional information transmitted by the media when the space shuttle, Challenger, exploded. The results indicated support for this prediction. Implications for future research in mass communication are discussed.     

Personality variables related to integrity test scores: The role of conscientiousness

Using a broad-based measure of normal personality, we tested the hypothesis that the trait conscientiousness is the best single predictor of scores on two well-researched integrity tests. Data from 180 traditional and nontraditional college students provided clear support for this hypothesis, but also indicated that a number of traits other than conscientiousness were likely to be related to integrity test scores. Scores on all six of the primary scales, and 33 of the 45 homogeneous item clusters (HICs) of the Hogan Personality Inventory were related to scores on the PDI Employment Inventory and/or the Personnel Selection Inventory. Personality variables were better predictors of scores on the PDI Employment inventory, which is a veiled-purpose (also referred to as personality based) test, than of scores on the Personnel Selection Inventory, which measures honesty-related attitudes and includes items calling for direct admissions of misdeeds.We are grateful for the assistance and cooperation of London House Inc., Personnel Decisions Inc., and Hogan Assessment Systems, Inc., and especially to Scott Martin, George Paajanen, and Joyce Hogan.     

Divorce,approaches to learning,and children's academic achievement: A longitudinal analysis of mediated and moderated effects

Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study — Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) were used to test the hypothesis that approaches to learning (ATL) mediates the link between parental divorce and academic achievement. Fixed effects regression was utilized to test for mediation, and subsequent moderation analyses examining gender and age at time of divorce also were conducted. Results indicated that divorce was associated with less growth in test scores and that ATL mediated 18% and 12% of this association in reading and mathematics respectively. Parental divorce also was associated with larger negative effects for children who experienced divorce at an older age as well as for girls' mathematics test scores. These findings contribute to the understanding of the impact of parental divorce on children's academic achievement and underscore the importance of focusing on the variability of child outcomes following parental divorce.     

Perceptions of Overt and Personality-based Integrity Tests

Differences in test-taker perceptions between overt and personality-based integrity tests were examined. Following administration of both types of integrity tests, 255 undergraduate students provided ratings of perceived face validity and perceived predictive validity. Following receipt of actual test scores, 126 test takers participated in a second phase of the study in which they reported perceptions of distributive justice. Test takers perceived overt integrity tests as having greater face validity and predictive validity than personality-based integrity tests. Perceptions of job-relatedness were not strongly related to test performance on either test type. Distributive justice perceptions were related to test performance, but not type of integrity test.     

Effects of test-wiseness training on test anxiety,locus of control and reading achievement in elementary school children

Abstract

Fifth and sixth grade children were randomly assigned to either a control or an experimental condition in a pretest, posttest, delayed posttest design. The experimental group received instruction and practice in test-taking, and the control group received a placebo treatment. Dependent variables were four components of test anxiety, locus of control and achievement. Factor analysis of pretest data supported I. Sarason's four-factor conceptualization of test anxiety (worry, test-irrelevant thinking, tension, and bodily reactions to test taking). Posttest data generally supported the hypothesized treatment effects. As predicted, children in the experimental condition had higher reading scores, greater internality, and less test-irrelevant thinking. The delayed posttest scores indicated a diminished effect on the achievement and internality measures; however, the amount of test-irrelevant thinking remained lower in the experimental condition.     

Effect of ethanol on judgments of performance

Ethanol impairs cognitive and psychomotor performance, although the precise reasons for this remain unclear. We investigated the effect of ethanol on individuals' judgment of their performance. Eighteen healthy volunteers (19–22 years) received a high dose of ethanol (0.8 g/kg for males and 0.7 g/kg, for females), a medium dose (75% of the high dose) and a placebo in counterbalanced order on three study days. A general knowledge (GK) test was administered on a pen computer 75 min after the drink. An adaptive algorithm adjusted the difficulty of questions so that scores were similar on all three study days. Volunteers then rated how well they believed they had performed the GK task using a visual analogue scale. A battery of other performance tests and mood ratings was also completed both before and after the GK test. These showed the expected effects of ethanol. There were no significant differences in scores on the GK test between treatment sessions. There was a highly significant dose‐dependent increase with ethanol on volunteers' ratings of their performance on this test. These findings suggest that ethanol leads to an overoptimistic assessment of ability which may contribute to ethanol's impairment of performance.     

On the Construct Validity of Integrity Tests: Individual and Situational Factors as Predictors of Test Performance

Although integrity tests are widely applied in screening job applicants, there is a need for research for examining the construct validity of these tests. In the present study, a theoretical model examining the causes of destructive behavior in organizational settings was used to develop background data measures of individual and situational variables that might be related to integrity test scores. Subsequently, 692 undergraduates were asked to complete these background data scales along with (a) two overt integrity tests – the Reid Report and the Personnel Selection Inventory, and (b) two personality‐based measures – the delinquency and socialization scales of the California Psychological Inventory. When scores of these measures were correlated with and regressed on the background data scales, it was found that relevant individual variables, such as narcissism and power motives, and relevant situational variables, such as alienation and exposure to negative peer groups, were related to scores on both types of integrity tests. However, a stronger pattern of validity evidence was obtained for the personality‐based measures and, in all cases, situational variables were found to be better predictors than individual variables. The implications of these findings for the validity of inferences drawn from overt and personality‐based integrity tests are discussed.