The Sabbath: Implications for Mental Health

Jewish tradition established the Sabbath as a special day. Its observance was both part of a religious tradition and an example of psychological health. The author explores the values and attitudes that underlie Sabbath observance, identifies some of the themes and behaviors most characteristic of these observances, and relates these to current mental health practices.     

A study of pre-assessment centre candidate short-listing

A trial was made of a brief short-listing procedure, the aim of which was to identify applicants who were unlikely to be successful at a military assessment centre and whose attendance might therefore not be cost effective. Assessments of overall suitability, based on short interviews at a number of locations, correlated 0***.45 (n = 65) with assessment centre outcome. A subsequent headquarters reassessment, which included some further information, correlated 0***.53 with the outcome. It was found that variables relating to educational achievement, responsibility, and physical pursuits were particularly powerful in predicting the outcome, which is in agreement with known training demands. Problems involved in operating such a short-listing procedure are discussed.     

POTENTIAL VERSUS ACTUAL FAKING OF A BIODATA FORM: AN ANALYSIS ALONG SEVERAL DIMENSIONS OF ITEM TYPE

Two studies examined faking of a 25-item biodata questionnaire. The first study investigated potential and actual faking of the form using three groups: a group told to make themselves look as good as possible, a group told to complete the form honestly, and a group completing the instrument in a real selection situation. Subjects were 58 current employees and 231 job applicants. Results indicated that subjects could fake the instrument when instructed to do so. Also, some faking appeared to be occurring in practice, although results depended upon the composition of the comparison group. Only eight items appeared to be fakable, and only three of these seemed to be faked in practice. In Study 2, 26 business majors rated the biodata items on eight dimensions of item type. Results showed that the three items faked in practice were less historical, objective, discrete, verifiable, and external than other items, and were more job relevant.     

INTERACTIVE VIDEO ASSESSMENT OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION SKILLS

In this research we developed and validated an interactive video assessment of conflict resolution skills. A model of conflict management was used to develop the conflict scenarios and part of the scoring key. Computer assessments of conflict resolution skills and two cognitive abilities were administered to 347 supervisors and job performance ratings were collected from their managers. The conflict skills assessment was found to be significantly related to supervisory ratings of on-the-job performance in managing conflict but to be unrelated to the measures of cognitive ability. In addition, the conflict skills assessment had no adverse impact for women. The implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.     

A LONGITUDINAL INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN JOB INFORMATION SOURCES, APPLICANT PERCEPTIONS OF FIT, AND WORK OUTCOMES

This longitudinal field study was designed to examine the relationships between job information sources, self-esteem, and perceptions of person-job (P-J) and person-organization (P-O) fit, as well as the relationships between perceptions of fit and work outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational identification, intentions to quit, stress symptoms, and turnover). The results indicate that the number of formal job information sources and self-esteem were positively related to perceptions of P-J fit, and formal job information sources were positively related to perceptions of P-O fit. Perceptions of P-J fit were positively related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational identification, and negatively related to stress symptoms and intentions to quit. Perceptions of P-O fit were negatively related to intentions to quit and turnover. In addition, perceptions of fit mediated the relationships between job information sources and self-esteem with job satisfaction, intentions to quit, and turnover. These results highlight the job applicant's perspective of fit, and demonstrate the importance of both P-J and P-O fit perceptions.