KIRKPATRICK'S LEVELS OF TRAINING CRITERIA: THIRTY YEARS LATER

Kirkpatrick's model (1959a, 1959b, 1960a, 1960b) of training evaluation criteria has had widespread and enduring popularity. This model proposed four "levels" of training evaluation criteria: reactions, learning, behavior, and results. Three problematic assumptions of the model may be identified: (1) The levels are arranged in ascending order of information provided. (2) The levels are causally linked. (3) The levels are positively intercorrelated. This article examines the validity of these assumptions, the frequency of each level in published evaluation studies, correlations from the literature in regard to Assumptions 2 and 3, and implications for the researcher and training manager.     

A FIELD STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ORGANIZATIONAL FEEDBACK ENVIRONMENT AND PERFORMANCE

This field study used the Job Feedback Survey (Herold & Parsons, 1985) and performance data gathered from multiple sources to examine the relationship between the perceived organizational feedback environment and performance. Regression analyses indicated that, while holding the other feedback variables constant, feedback from supervisory and organizational sources was related to reported job performance while feedback from peers and self was not. Most of the unique variance in performance explained by feedback was also accounted for by feedback from organizational and supervisory sources. Negative expressions from organizational/supervisory sources (e.g., the supervisor expressing anger, the company communicating dissatisfaction with poor performance) were related to lower performance, and positive job changes initiated by these sources (e.g., increasing responsibility, assignment to special jobs) were related to higher performance. Higher performers did not receive more feedback than lower performers but did receive more total positive feedback. Supplemental issues, possible explanations, and implications of the findings are discussed.     

RECONSIDERING THE EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW: A REVIEW OF RECENT LITERATURE AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Literature since the last comprehensive review of research on the employment interview is summarized, and suggestions for future studies in this area are described. Major changes in findings regarding the validity of the interview, the impact of applicant sex, and the effect of interviewer characteristics/behavior on applicant reactions, as well as other issues, are reported. Contrary to the widely held belief that the interview has low validity, recent research indicates at least modest validity for this selection tool. Conversely, the effect of the campus interview on applicant reactions has been seriously questioned. Researchers are urged to examine several areas in social psychology, including the literature on attitudes-intentions-behavior, the elaboration likelihood model, and theories of discrimination to achieve greater understanding of the employment interview.     

Effects of Fluprazine Hydrochloride on Three Aversively Motivated Tasks

The Psychological Record - Treatment with 8.0 mg/kg fluprazine hydrochloride had no effect on the acquisition of a step-down avoidance response but retarded its extinction. The drug also impaired...     

Blocking Effects in Two-Choice Discrimination Tasks in Rhesus Monkeys Macaca Mulatta

The Psychological Record - The present experiments investigated blocking effects in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) in a discrimination learning paradigm using a single stimulus modality. Two...     

Counseling: A conversion experience

In this article, the experience of conversion, which is usually delegated to the realm of spiritual studies, is applied to the counseling experience. It is posited that a person who goes through a successful counseling process will experience a turning around, will cease leading life in a dysfunctional way, and will move forward in a manner by which the person experiences life in a new perspective. This new perspective brings the person wholeness and balance.     

Carl Rogers and Martin Luther—A “reformation” in the helping professions

The 16th century schism in Christian thought leading to the Reformation has an interesting analogy in Carl Rogers' attempt to reform the helping professions. An exploration of this analogy clarifies much of the theoretical tension in the contemporary arena of pastoral counseling.     

A quasi-nonmetric method for multidimensional scaling VIA an extended euclidean model

An Extended Two-Way Euclidean Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) model which assumes both common and specific dimensions is described and contrasted with the standard (Two-Way) MDS model. In this Extended Two-Way Euclidean model then stimuli (or other objects) are assumed to be characterized by coordinates onR common dimensions. In addition each stimulus is assumed to have a dimension (or dimensions) specific to it alone. The overall distance between objecti and objectj then is defined as the square root of the ordinary squared Euclidean distance plus terms denoting the specificity of each object. The specificity,s _j , can be thought of as the sum of squares of coordinates on those dimensions specific to objecti, all of which have nonzero coordinatesonly for objecti. (In practice, we may think of there being just one such specific dimension for each object, as this situation is mathematically indistinguishable from the case in which there are more than one.)We further assume that _ij =F(d _ij ) +e _ij where _ij is the proximity value (e.g., similarity or dissimilarity) of objectsi andj,d _ij is the extended Euclidean distance defined above, whilee _ij is an error term assumed i.i.d.N(0, ²).F is assumed either a linear function (in the metric case) or a monotone spline of specified form (in the quasi-nonmetric case). A numerical procedure alternating a modified Newton-Raphson algorithm with an algorithm for fitting an optimal monotone spline (or linear function) is used to secure maximum likelihood estimates of the paramstatistics) can be used to test hypotheses about the number of common dimensions, and/or the existence of specific (in addition toR common) dimensions.This approach is illustrated with applications to both artificial data and real data on judged similarity of nations.