MILITARY AGGRESSION AND RISK PREDICTED BY EXPLANATORY STYLE

Abstract— The explanatory style scores of George Bush and Saddam Hussein were derived using the content analysts of verbatim explanations technique for periods preceding military actions or political conflict These leaders' actions were rated scales of aggression-passivity and risk-caution Regression I correlational analyses show that increased levels of option before conflict predicted heightened aggression and risk taking, whereas increased levels of pessimism prior to an event predicted passivity and caution     

PERSONALITY MEASURES AS PREDICTORS OF JOB PERFORMANCE: A META-ANALYTIC REVIEW

The purpose of this study was to investigate conflicting findings in previous research on personality and job performance. Meta-analysis was used to (a) assess the overall validity of personality measures as predictors of job performance, (b) investigate the moderating effects of several study characteristics on personality scale validity, and (c) appraise the predictability of job performance as a function of eight distinct categories of personality content, including the "Big Five" personality factors. Based on review of 494 studies, usable results were identified for 97 independent samples (total N = 13,521). Consistent with predictions, studies using confirmatory research strategies produced a corrected mean personality scale validity (.29) that was more than twice as high as that based on studies adopting exploratory strategies (.12). An even higher mean validity (.38) was obtained based on studies using job analysis explicitly in the selection of personality measures. Validities were also found to be higher in longer tenured samples and in published articles versus dissertations. Corrected mean validities for the "Big Five" factors ranged from .16 for Extroversion to .33 for Agreeableness. Weaknesses in the reporting of validation study characteristics are noted, and recommendations for future research in this area are provided. Contrary to conclusions of certain past reviews, the present findings provide some grounds for optimism concerning the use of personality measures in employee selection.     

THE USE OF AN ENHANCED SIMPLIFIED HABIT-REVERSAL PROCEDURE TO REDUCE DISRUPTIVE OUTBURSTS DURING ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

An enhanced simplified habit-reversal procedure was used with a 14-year-old boy who presented with a long history of disruptive, angry outbursts during tennis matches. Initial treatment involved simplified habit-reversal procedures delivered in a multiple baseline design across settings. Modest results led to additional supporting contingencies, including response cost. Results showed elimination of disruptive outbursts during both nontournament and tournament matches and highlight the importance of adding additional supporting contingencies to simplified habit reversal for some self-control problems.     

A DEFENCE OF THE EXPLANATORY ARGUMENT FOR PHYSICALISM

One argument for reductive physicalism, the explanatory argument, rests on its ability to explain the vast and growing body of acknowledged psychophysical correlations. Jaegwon Kim has recently levelled four objections against the explanatory argument. I assess all of Kim's objections, showing that none is successful. The result is a defence of the explanatory argument for physicalism.     

ONGOING CONSULTATION AS A METHOD OF IMPROVING PERFORMANCE OF STAFF MEMBERS IN A GROUP HOME

A model of ongoing consultation was implemented in a community group home for 8 adults with severe and profound mental retardation. Two consultants, highly experienced in working with people with mental retardation and in the procedures used in group homes, taught staff members to use a token reinforcement system, to engage the adults in a variety of activities, and to improve the content and style of the staff members' interactions with the adults. The consultants taught skills to 9 staff members through brief mini-workshops, direct observation of the staff members' use of the skills during regular activities in the group home, and individual verbal feedback regarding a staff member's performance of the skills. Evaluation of the ongoing consultation process by the 2 consultants showed it to be effective in improving the performance of the staff members and in changing the behaviors of the adults who lived in the home. Continued implementation of the process, however, appeared to be necessary for the behavior changes of staff members to be maintained at high levels.     

SELF-MONITORING AS A MODERATOR OF THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PERSONALITY TRAITS AND PERFORMANCE

This study examined the hypothesis that self-monitoring moderates the relationship between Big Five personality traits and interpersonal performance. The findings from a sample of 102 employed Executive MBA students reveal that when self-monitoring was high the relationships between 3 of the Big Five personality traits (Extraversion, Emotional Stability, and Openness to Experience) and supervisory ratings of interpersonal performance were attenuated. These effects were replicated using peer ratings of interpersonal performance for Extraversion and Emotional Stability but not for Openness to Experience. Further, as expected, self-monitoring did not moderate the relationships between personality traits and supervisory or peer ratings of task performance. Implications for future research in the area of personality and other motivational theories are discussed.     

FOUNDATION OF A COMMUNICATOR STYLE CONSTRUCT

The foundation of a communicator style construct is presented in this paper. The construct is stipulated to include communication variables which reflect the “way one verbally and paraverbally interacts to signal how literal meaning should be taken, interpreted, filtered, or understood.” Nine independent variables (dominant, dramatic, animated, open, contentious, relaxed, friendly, attentive, and impression leaving) and one dependent variable (communicator image) operationally define the construct. Two independent samples, the first with 80 subjects and 102 items and the second with 1,086 subjects and 51 items, are analyzed in terms of (1) how the variables cluster, (2) what dimensionality is embedded in the structure of intercorrelations, and (3) which variables best predict communicator image. Potentially, the construct provides a context for other communication variables, relates to perceptual processes, and explains interpersonal consequents.     

BRIEF REPORT: PSYCHOLINGUISTIC PERFORMANCE AS AN INDICATOR OF MODERNIZATION

The Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) was administered to 80 Ss from four cultural systems of varying degrees of modernization in Sierra Leone. Extensive univariate results were reporbed by Karr (1969). This short note indicates the utility of muliivariate analyses. Multiple dis- criminant analysis was applied to the nine ITPA subtests, resulting in two significant discriminsant functions. The first function separated the groups along the hypothesized modernization continuum. The second function in- dicated one way in which bhe hypothesized levels of modernization did not hold up under empirical investigation.     

REACTION OF EMPLOYEES TO PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL INTERVIEWS AS A FUNCTION OF THEIR PARTICIPATION IN RATING SCALE DEVELOPMENT

A substantial amount of research has been conducted on the performance appraisal feedback interview. The purpose of the present field study was to see whether employee involvement in the development of rating scales used in the feedback interview affected ratees' perceptions of the interview. Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) were developed for five job families in a midwestem hospital. A participation group consisted of employees from each of the job families who were involved in all phases of BARS construction. A nonparticipation group involved an equal number of employees from each of the job families who were not involved in the BARS development. The results showed that participation in BARS construction led to favorable perceptions regarding the performance appraisal interview process as well as positive outcomes.