THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FORMAL MENTORING PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS AND PERCEIVED PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS

Formal mentoring programs continue to gain popularity within organizations despite limited empirical research regarding how these programs should be designed to achieve maximum effectiveness. This study examined design features of formal mentoring programs and perceived program effectiveness from both mentor and protégé perspectives. Mentor commitment and program understanding were examined as mediators. Substantial support for the proposed path analytic model was found. These results help begin to bridge the gap between science and practice concerning the design of formal mentoring programs.     

THE TRAINABILITY OF FORMAL THINKING: A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON

In order to investigate what is learned in a training study on inductive reasoning, three tests were composed, involving two stimulus domains, namely letters and figures. Each test was composed on the basis of a set of explicitly defined item generating rules. The two figural tests were isomorphic tests, that is, they had identical problem structures but invoked different stimulus domains, simple geometric patterns and drawings of fruit. These tests were administered to pupils from grade 6 in The Netherlands, Surinam and Zambia. Half of each class was then trained at one of the three tests, while the other half did not get any training. During the training the pupils were taught to solve the items by trying to detect the features of the item generating rules. Four possible outcomes of transfer studies were postulated, differing in the generality of transfer of the results. By means of a Multivariate Analysis of Variance with Repeated Measures it was possible to differentiate between the four kinds of transfer; a pattern of fairly restricted transfer was demonstrated in each culture. Furthermore, in Zambia a remarkable score increase was found at the Letter Test, occurring both in the experimental and in the control condition. It was argued that this increase was caused by improved test-taking skills, learned at the first test administration.     

THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL PUNISHMENT ON NONCOMPLIANCE: A COMPARISON WITH TIMEOUT AND POSITIVE PRACTICE

The effects of social punishment, positive practice, and timeout on the noncompliant behavior of four mentally retarded children were assessed in a multitreatment withdrawal design. When programmed, the experimental procedure occurred contingent on noncompliance to experimenter-issued commands. Commands were given at 55-sec intervals throughout each experimental session. The results showed (1) lower levels of noncompliance with social punishment than with the positive-practice or timeout conditions, and (2) that relatively few applications of social punishment were required to obtain this effect. The advantages of social punishment over other punishment procedures, considerations to be made before using it, and the various aspects of the procedure that contribute to its effectiveness were discussed.     

A PUZZLE ABOUT INCONGRUENT COUNTERPARTS AND THE CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON

Abstract:   Kant uses incongruent counterparts in his work before and after 1781, but not in the first Critique . Given the relevance that incongruent counterparts had for his thought on space, and their persistence in his work during the 1780s, it is plausible to think that he had a reason for leaving them out of both editions of the Critique . Two implausible conjectures for their absence are here considered and rejected. A more plausible alternative is put forth, which explains that textual absence as a result of the synthetic method of presentation intended for the Critique .     

A COMPARISON OF BRIEF FUNCTIONAL ANALYSES WITH AND WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES

Variations to traditional functional analysis methodology, such as brief functional analyses (BFAs), are prevalent in the literature. In the current evaluation, two types of BFAs were each conducted with five participants. In one, potential motivating operations (MOs) were presented, and problem behavior resulted in delivery of an associated consequence. In the other, the same MOs were presented, but no consequences were delivered. Results of the two BFAs were compared with respect to the conditions in which problem behavior occurred and the degree of differentiation between test and control conditions. Results across the BFA methodologies generally matched across all five participants. However, greater differentiation was observed in the BFA that did not include consequences. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MORAL JUDGMENT : A CULTURAL AND SUBCULTURAL COMPARISON WITH SOME PIAGET'S RESEARCH CONCLUSIONS

Le jugement moral: comparaison interculturelle et sous-culturelle avec les conclusions de Piaget. — L'article comporte une revue des recherches faites par L'A. sur certains aspects du développement moral et une comparaison avec les résultats de Piaget et de Harrower dans le même domaine. Les Ss. sont des enfants et des adolescents de 3 à 21 ans. L'âge mental dans le groupe le plus âgé qui se compose de sujets retardés, est comparable à celui des enfants d'environ 9 ans, L'A. utilise la méthode clinique et deux des histoires de Piaget, ainsi que deux autres histoires du même type. Deux d'entre elles sont relatives a la distinction entre L'intention et le résultat d'une action, les deux autres à la dépendance vis-à-vis de L'adulte et à la réciprocité avec les pairs. Les données de L'A. montrent que les théories de Piaget au sujet des stades du jugement moral sont universellement vraies dans les sociétés occidentales, mais que L'âge auquel un nouveau stade est atteint dépend de facteurs culturels et sous-culturels, comme la nationalité, la classe sociale d'origine, L'éducation religieuse, la mentalité. Les résultats ne confirment pas la conclusion de Piaget selon laquelle un enfant doit avoir atteint le stade de L'indépendance vis-à-vis des adultes et de la réciprocité avec les pairs avant de pouvoir juger en toute maturité des motifs et des résultats des actions.     

A COMPARISON OF A DISADVANTAGED SAMPLE WITH A NATIONAL SAMPLE ON THE GATB

The GATB is widely used in making vocational decisions. The norms are based on a national sample tested in 1952. In the study reported here the GATB results of a sample of disadvantaged individuals were compared to the results of the 1952 sample. Significant differences were obtained for five variables: name comparison, computation, vocabulary, tool matching, and arithmetic reasoning. In each case the scores of the national sample were higher. The differences occurred on variables of an academic nature, although mean education was approximately the same in both samples. Some reasons for the differences are suggested in this article.     

ITEMS AND PERSONS: FORMAL DUALS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES

A matrix of the responses of persons (rows) to items (columns) can be analyzed for persons as the dual of the usual analyses for items. In personality tests, the stability of items varies with mean distance between the item and the points for persons, and the dual holds for persons. For items, the item- test correlation varies somewhat with stability and with the frequency of appropriate response processes (i.e., Ss answering the item as E intended them to), but stability and appropriateness are not correlated. For persons, the per- son-group correlation is independent of stability and appropriateness, these latter variables being correlated. Thus the pattern of relationships among item indices is different from that for the dual indices for people. Persons being complex, they approach personality test items in diverse ways about which little is known today.     

PERFORMANCE PROFILES OF ABE STUDENTS AND CHILDREN ON AN INFORMAL READING INVENTORY

A comparison of reading performance abilities was sought for school‐aged children and adults attending ABE classes. Scores obtained for both groups on the Adult Informal Reading Test were formed into distribution profiles for each tested vari‐able. Differences between the two populations for oral reading accuracy, comprehension and rate of reading were identified for the two populations. The profile notion was concluded to be a useful means for displaying the performance trends of published Informal Reading Inventories.     

DETECTING MODERATORS WITH META-ANALYSIS: AN EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF TECHNIQUES

The present study evaluated accuracy levels of seven techniques for ascertaining, after a meta-analysis, whether moderators are present or not: (a) SH-75% rule for uncorrected r , (b) SH-75% rule for corrected r, (c) SH-95% rule for uncorrected r , (d) SH-95% rule for corrected r, (e) the Q statistic; (f) inclusion of 0 in the credibility interval around the corrected r, and (g) the size of the interval. Using Monte Carlo data which were defined by various parameters including sample based artifacts, comparisons of Type I and power determinations were generated. Findings showed that when differences between population correlations were small, power levels for all techniques were relatively low. Overall, SH rules and the Q statistic had greater power but higher Type I error rate than credibility intervals. Because of the high Type I error rate associated with both of the SH-95% techniques and the low power found with the credibility intervals, the SH-75% rules and Q statistic are recommended. Limitations and some practical implications for the findings are discussed.     

EFFECTS OF JOB ATTRIBUTES AND RECRUITING PRACTICES ON APPLICANT DECISIONS: A COMPARISON1

Previous research on the factors which affect applicant decisions concerning jobs has focused on the effects of either job attributes or recruiting practices. The present study examined the simultaneous impact of job attributes and recruiting practices on the likelihood of job acceptance by actual job applicants. Path analysis revealed that job attributes but not recruiting practices influenced the likelihood of job acceptance by graduating college students (N= 200). Given that college students might be expected to be the job applicants most swayed by recruiting practices because of their lack of work experience, the results suggest that the emphasis placed on recruiting practices as determinants of applicant decisions may be overstated in the literature.     

FACILITATING TRANSITION TIMES WITH HANDICAPPED PRESCHOOL CHILDREN: A COMPARISON BETWEEN PEER-MEDIATED AND ANTECEDENT PROMPT PROCEDURES

We examined the effects of a peer-mediated versus an antecedent prompt condition on the rate of independent movement and appropriate behavior of handicapped preschool children during three classroom transition times. Using an alternating treatments design, results showed that each treatment condition yielded increases in target behaviors; however, the antecedent prompt condition was superior during all three transition settings. In addition, teacher prompts to these children were significantly reduced during the intervention conditions, indicating that the children were making these transitions more independently.     

GENDER,MENTORING, AND CAREER SUCCESS: THE IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

This study examines the moderating effects of protégé sex and organizational context on relationships between senior-male mentors and objective and subjective career outcomes among midcareer managers and professionals. Extending signaling theory, and using a 3-way interaction, we found that associations between senior-male mentoring, cash compensation, and career progress satisfaction were greatest among women working in male-gendered industries. By contextualizing the protégé sex-by-mentoring interaction and by considering key mentor attributes, the results of this study provide important insights into where, why, and for whom access to a senior-male mentor is related to career success and contribute to building more complete models of the career attainment process.     

THE DEPENDENCE OF VIBROTACTILE THRESHOLD AND MAGNITUDE FUNCTIONS ON STIMULATION FREQUENCY AND SIGNAL LEVEL: A perceptual and neural comparison

F ranzén , O. The dependence of vibrotactile threshold and magnitude functions on stimulation frequency and signal level. A perceptual and neural comparison. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1969, 10 , 289–298.—Apparent intensity of vibrotactile signals was examined as a function of stimulation frequency and displacement. Two sorts of power transformations were observed. (1) The exponent decreased as frequency was increased. (2) At low signal levels perceived intensity was linearly related to the physical input. At a certain point on the intensity continuum an abrupt shift to a power function with a slope of 0.58 occurred. The successive change of the exponent of the magnitude functions is tentatively interpreted as a kind of successively increasing demultiplication in the rate of firing frequency in the sensory pathway. A dual mechanism of mechanoreception is discussed.     

TURNOVER AND RETIREMENT: A COMPARISON OF THEIR SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

This study sought to demonstrate that turnover and retirement intentions were distinct forms of organizational withdrawal and to empirically examine the similarities and differences between their antecedents. In a sample of 375 (126 men and 247 women) working adults, a confirmatory factor analysis supported the contention that items measuring turnover intent and retirement intent were related to 2 separate constructs. In addition, the correlation between the 2 measures was low and not significant. The influence of common and unique variables that influence turnover intent and retirement intent were then examined. The results suggested that there were significant differences between the predictors of turnover intentions and retirement intentions. These findings suggest that there are important differences between turnover and retirement and it is necessary to treat them separately for some purposes.