STRUCTURED INTERVIEWING: RAISING THE PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW

A highly structured employment interviewing technique is proposed, which includes the following steps: (1) develop questions based on a job analysis, (2) ask the same questions of each candidate, (3) anchor the rating scales for scoring answers with examples and illustrations, (4) have an interview panel record and rate answers, (5) consistently administer the process to all candidates, and (6) give special attention to job relatedness, fairness, and documentation in accordance with testing guidelines. Examination of psychometric properties for hiring entry-level production employees ( n = 149) reveals high interrater reliability ( r = .88) and predictive validity (uncorrected r = .34, corrected r = .56), as well as evidence for test fairness and utility. The levels of these properties are comparable to those of a comparison battery of typical employment tests, and correlations with the tests suggest that the interview has a strong cognitive aptitude component. Potential explanations for the effectiveness of this structured interviewing technique are discussed.     

TRANSFER OF TRAINING: A REVIEW AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Transfer of training is of paramount concern for training researchers and practitioners. Despite research efforts, there is a growing concern over the "transfer problem." The purpose of this paper is to provide a critique of the existing transfer research and to suggest directions for future research investigations. The conditions of transfer include both the generalization of learned material to the job and the maintenance of trained skills over a period of time on the job. The existing research examining the effects of training design, trainee, and work-environment factors on conditions of transfer is reviewed and critiqued. Research gaps identified from the review include the need to (1) test various operationalizations of training design and work-environment factors that have been posited as having an impact on transfer and (2) develop a framework for conducting research on the effects of trainee characteristics on transfer. Needed advancements in the conceptualization and operationalization of the criterion of transfer are also discussed.     

DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIPLE JOB PERFORMANCE MEASURES IN A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF JOBS

The goal of criterion development in Project A was to construct multiple measures of the major components of job performance such that the total performance domain for a representative sample of the population of entry-level enlisted positions in the U.S. Army was covered. These measures were to be used as criteria against which to validate both experimental and existing predictors of job performance. The initial model specified that performance is multidimensional within two major categories of dimensions designated as organization-wide and job specific. The development strategy involved describing the total domain of job content via extensive task analyses and critical incident analyses, generating the critical performance dimensions that constitute it, constructing measures for each dimension, and evaluating each measure using expert judgment and field test data. The specific measures developed consisted of rating scales, tests of job knowledge, hands-on job samples, and archival records. The major steps in the job analyses, content sampling, instrument construction, and instrument evaluation are described, and the final array of criterion measures is presented.     

Caring and Exploitation

It is not wholly clear the extern to which Nel Nodding intends her ethic of caring to be an ethic that stands on its own in competition with others described by ethical theories. I argue that, given this ambiguity, Nodding' ethic of caring is a dangerous ethic because it can abet exploitation. I consider Noddings'responses to this criticism and conclude that the relational ontology of the ethic cannot rescue it from the charges of abetting exploitation.     

THE APPLICATION OF EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS IN APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: A CRITICAL REVIEW AND ANALYSIS

Although factor analysis has been a major contributing factor in advancing psychological research, a systematic assessment of how it has been applied is lacking. For this review we examined the Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance , and Personnel Psychology over a ten-year period (1975–1984) and located 152 studies that employed factor analysis. We then analyzed the choices made by the researchers concerning factor model, retention criteria, rotation, interpretation of factors and other issues relevant to factor analysis. The results indicate that choices made by researchers have generally been poor and that reporting practices have not allowed for informed review, cumulation of results, or replicability. A comparison of results by time interval (1975–1979; 1980–1984) revealed minimal differences in choices made or the quality of reporting practices. Suggestions for improving the use of factor analysis and the reporting of results are presented.     

Rules: The Invisible Family

Family rules occur in groups of five and more. Because they are implicit and multidimensional, family rules are beyond visualization. These characteristics have unsettling effects on clinicians and researchers. Knowing the rules of a family, however, allows precise intervention, and using rules concepts makes learning family therapy techniques less threatening to students. The concept of homeostasis in the context of rules has been examined and placed in an understandable perspective. Rules provide the connection between family process and individual behavior. They also constitute an integrated theory of families and individual personality development.     

Counselor Role and Function: An Appraisal by Consumers and Counselors

This article reports the perceptions of parents, members of the business community, school administrators, and counselors regarding the role and function of secondary school counselors, The research reported here was presented as part of a symposium entitled, “The Development of a Model School Counselor Education Curriculum” at the Annual Conference of the American Personnel and Guidance Association, St. Louis, Missouri, 1981.     

Challenges and Promises of Training Women as Family Systems Therapists

The structural/strategic family therapy model has drawn increasing numbers of women practitioners attracted not only by its effectiveness but by the opportunity to function in an active, orchestrative, flexible role. Traditional sex-role training, family and supervisor expectations, and patriarchal institutional structures pose particular challenges to the female family therapist and trainee. This paper explores several critical problem areas for women learning to function in this role, including the expression of authority, countertransference, sexual politics of supervision, and boundary issues. Particular content areas of focus for didactic training and common sex-role difficulties in the supervision process are delineated. The discussion underscores the need for assessment and intervention skills not only in small family systems but in larger institutional structures as well in order to enhance the professional development and effectiveness of women in the family therapy field at all levels.     

Factors Affecting Employer Preference for Female Managerial Applicants

This study examines aspects of job interview behavior that influence employer preference for a female applicant for a managerial position in the human service field. The authors used an analogue methodology simulating videotaped job interview vignettes to present a female applicant exhibiting varying leadership and personality styles, ranging from a “warm” cooperative style to a “cold” task-oriented style. Employers in the human services field rated their preference for the simulated applicants. There were significant differences in preference for the various types of applicants; the most preferred were those who combined warmth with goal-oriented leadership skills.