The role of intentional forgetting in employee selection

The authors examined the effects of forbidden information on the employee-selection process. They presented the participants with 4 applicants for the position of cashier-stockperson. One of the applicants (the Target Applicant) provided a mixture of forbidden and job-relevant information; the remaining applicants gave no forbidden information. Some of the participants were told before they reviewed the applicants what types of information were to be considered as forbidden, and they were instructed to disregard any such information in the applications. The remaining participants were not aware of the presence of the forbidden information, nor were they instructed to disregard such information. The participants who were instructed to disregard the forbidden information rated the Target Applicant more favorably than did those who were not aware of its presence. Moreover, those in the disregard condition recalled less of the forbidden information and more of the job-relevant information about the Target Applicant than did those in the no-instruction condition. These data patterns support laboratory-based studies on intentional forgetting.     

Personnel selection to control employee violence

There is a range of on-the-job violent behaviors which are costly and of concern to employers. This review of research shows that on-the-job violence can be predicted when standardized instruments and a statistical model of prediction are used for personnel selection. The research shows that persons will reveal violent tendencies on psychological tests.This is intended as an introductory non-technical business note for managers and human resource professionals.For an empirically based review contact the first author or see: Slora, K.B., Joy, D.S., Jones, J.W., & Terris, W. (1991). The prediction of on-the-job violence. In J.W. Jones (Ed.)Preemployment honesty testing: Current research and future directions. Westport, CT: Quorom Books.     

The adequacy of language 1

he notion of linguistic adequacy (the adequacy of sentences to express or describe) is explicated in terms of a set theoretical model of the communication situation. Roughly: a message is adequate to the degree it answers the receiver's questions. Adequacy is distinguished from openness, in such a way that a message can be both completely adequate in a communication event and also “inexhaustibly open”;. Using this explication it is possible to translate and clarify several familiar philosophical theses concerning the adequacy of language. The view that “humanistic”; language differs from scientific language is clarified and criticized. Seven types of empirical test of the explication are discussed.     

Perceived fairness in employee selection: the role of applicant personality

The present study investigated the role of applicant personality in relation to applicant procedural and distributive justice perceptions after being informed of an organization’s reject/accept selection decision. A sample of 503 students completed a selection test, believing the results would be used to make initial selection decisions for an organization recruiting from the university. Participants were presented with selection decisions (randomly assigned) two weeks later, and procedural and distributive justice perceptions were assessed. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that agreeableness, openness to experience, and test-taking self-efficacy were positively related with perceptions of procedural and distributive justice. Neuroticism was negatively associated with distributive justice perceptions. The relationships of test-taking self-efficacy with procedural and distributive justice were moderated by the organization’s selection decision.     

The descriptive adequacy of qualitative findings

Abstract

This article describes ways of understanding early injuries in the life journey affect the experience of clients in therapy. After introducing Langer's (1951) distinction between discursive and presentational symbolism, I describe the ways that presentational symbolism is used to subsume early life experiences including early traumas. Many clients wind up stuck in early developmental injuries and often have experiences that seem chaotic both to them and their therapists. However, if the therapist can understand the nature of presentation‐ally symbolized experiences, a truly transforming relationship can be created. Clinical examples will be used to illustrate my points.     

Reactions to gay men: Contact and overcorrection in an employee selection simulation

The current study examines the role of contact on reactions to gay and heterosexual targets by U.S. heterosexual college students. Aversive bias research finds that minority group members receive unfavorable evaluations only when non-category-based information justifies bias. We argue that under other conditions, namely absence of conditions justifying bias, minority group members receive more favorable evaluations than non-minorities, an effect we term overcorrection. We apply this research to the study of attitudes toward gay men. The current study examines this effect on evaluations of a highly qualified male job candidate who is either gay or heterosexual and flawed or not flawed. We predicted and found, among 180 college students, that the overcorrection effect was present only for those individuals who have experienced no friendships with gay men. Those individuals who do have gay male friends did not exhibit overcorrection. We interpret this result as an indication that individuals who have gay friends (contact) ignore category information such as gay/ heterosexual and are more likely to exhibit truly egalitarian ratings. Implications for aversive bias and outgroup covariation perspectives are discussed. We presented portions of this paper at the 2000 Western Psychological Association conference, Maui, HI.     

Reactions to gay men: Contact and overcorrection in an employee selection simulation

The current study examines the role of contact on reactions to gay and heterosexual targets by U.S. heterosexual college students. Aversive bias research finds that minority group members receive unfavorable evaluations only when non-category-based information justifies bias. We argue that under other conditions, namely absence of conditions justifying bias, minority group members receive more favorable evaluations than non-minorities, an effect we term overcorrection. We apply this research to the study of attitudes toward gay men. The current study examines this effect on evaluations of a highly qualified male job candidate who is either gay or heterosexual and flawed or not flawed. We predicted and found, among 180 college students, that the overcorrection effect was present only for those individuals who have experienced no friendships with gay men. Those individuals who do have gay male friends did not exhibit overcorrection. We interpret this result as an indication that individuals who have gay friends (contact) ignore category information such as gay/ heterosexual and are more likely to exhibit truly egalitarian ratings. Implications for aversive bias and outgroup covariation perspectives are discussed. We presented portions of this paper at the 2000 Western Psychological Association conference, Maui, HI.     

The determinants of employee benefits satisfaction

This study developed a multidimensional scale of benefits satisfaction and utilized a discrepancy model to examine the determinants of employee benefits satisfaction. The empirical findings are based on the survey responses of 205 employees in a hospital. The results indicate that pay level, female gender and exempt status employees are positively related to benefits satisfaction. Further, age and education level are negatively related to benefits satisfaction.     

Organizational climate and company productivity: The role of employee affect and employee level

Consistent with a growing number of models about affect and behaviour and with a recognition that perception alone provides no impetus for action, it was predicted that associations between company climate and productivity would be mediated by average level of job satisfaction. In a study of 42 manufacturing companies, subsequent productivity was significantly correlated in controlled analyses with eight aspects of organizational climate (e.g. skill development and concern for employee welfare) and also with average job satisfaction. The mediation hypothesis was supported in hierarchical multiple regressions for separate aspects of climate. In addition, an overall analysis showed that company productivity was more strongly correlated with those aspects of climate that had stronger satisfaction loadings. A second prediction, that managers' perceptions of climate would be more closely linked to company productivity than would those of non‐managers, was not supported. However, managers' assessments of most aspects of their company's climate were significantly more positive than those of non‐managers.     

The prediction of employee counterproductivity through attitude assessment

Two studies were conducted to identify psychological predictors of employee counterproductivity. Results of the first study showed that tolerant attitudes toward violence and dissatisfaction with co-workers significantly predicted on-the-job damage by employees. In addition, condoning attitudes toward violence and dishonesty, dissatisfaction with co-workers and lie scale scores reliably predicted on-the-job waste by employees. The second study found that condoning attitudes toward dishonesty, dissatisfaction with work, sex of employee, and two measures of overall job dissatisfaction significantly predicted counterproductive behavior on the job, using a cross-validation strategy. These variables explained over a quarter of the variance in the criterion. Attitudes toward dishonesty were found to be the best single predictor of counterproductivity. Implications for industry are discussed.     

The adequacy condition as a definition of elementary interpretation

A definition of elementary interpretation, equivalent (up to isomorphisms) to the ones of [3] and [4], is given. The defining condition, used here, seems to confirm that intuitions agree with the choice of the class of elementary interpretations, which was done in [3].     

Determinants of employee punctuality

Although researchers have studied employee lateness empirically (e.g., S. Adler & J. Golan, 1981; C. W. Clegg, 1983), few have attempted to describe the punctual employee. In the present study, results of a discriminant analysis on employees in Israel indicated that a personality characteristic, time urgency, a subcomponent of Type A behavioral pattern, distinguished between punctual and late employees. Organizational commitment and age of employee's youngest child also distinguished between the groups.     

The relation between employee organizational and professional development activities

A model is presented showing hypothesized common and parallel antecedents of employee organizational development activity (ODA) versus professional development activity (PDA). A common antecedent is expected to affect both ODA and PDA, while a parallel antecedent is expected to affect its corresponding work referent. This model was tested using a sample of 197 medical technologists over a four year time period. Prior ODA and PDA were controlled for before testing hypotheses. Results showed that the common antecedent of learning motivation was a robust indicator of both ODA and PDA. Looking at parallel antecedents, job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment had a positive impact on ODA, while occupational satisfaction and affective occupational commitment had a positive impact on PDA. ODA had a negative impact on subsequent intent to leave organization, but PDA did not have a similar impact on intent to leave profession. Study limitations, issues around operationalizing ODA and PDA, and future research directions are discussed.     

The role of employee loyalty and formality in voicing discontent

This study extends prior research on voice, loyalty, and postvoice outcomes by examining a variety of methods by which an employee may choose to voice a dispute. The authors argue that more loyal employees may prefer and use less formal methods to voice discontent and that the use of less formal voice methods relates to less job search activity and lower intent to quit. This study also investigated the interrelation between loyalty, voice method, and satisfaction with the attempt to resolve the dispute. Findings from a sample of university staff employees (N = 452) provide support for the hypotheses.