Ability-performance relationships in education and employment settings: critical tests of the more-is-better and the good-enough hypotheses

The nature of the relationship between ability and performance is of critical importance for admission decisions in the context of higher education and for personnel selection. Although previous research has supported the more-is-better hypothesis by documenting linearity of ability-performance relationships, such research has not been sensitive enough to detect deviations at the top ends of the score distributions. An alternative position receiving considerable attention is the good-enough hypothesis, which suggests that although higher levels of ability may result in better performance up to a threshold, above this threshold greater ability does not translate to better performance. In this study, the nature of the relationship between cognitive ability and performance was examined throughout the score range in four large-scale data sets. Monotonicity was maintained in all instances. Contrary to the good-enough hypothesis, the ability-performance relationship was commonly stronger at the top end of the score distribution than at the bottom end.     

The Role of Socioeconomic Status in SAT-Grade Relationships and in College Admissions Decisions

This article examines the role of socioeconomic status (SES) in the relationships among college admissions-test scores, secondary school grades, and subsequent academic performance. Scores on the SAT (a test widely used in the admissions process in the United States), secondary school grades, college grades, and SES measures from 143,606 students at 110 colleges and universities were examined, and results of these analyses were compared with results obtained using a 41-school data set including scores from the prior version of the SAT and using University of California data from prior research on the role of SES. In all the data sets, the SAT showed incremental validity over secondary school grades in predicting subsequent academic performance, and this incremental relationship was not substantially affected by controlling for SES. The SES of enrolled students was very similar to that of specific schools' applicant pools, which suggests that the barrier to college for low-SES students in the United States is a lower rate of entering the college admissions process, rather than exclusion on the part of colleges.     

Some further studies on the effect of grouping elements of a visual stimulus on the cortical evoked potential

Grouping elements of a visual stimulus is shown to reduce the amplitude of the bipolar occipital evoked potential in three experiments. The first shows similar effects of grouping elements on the horizontal and vertical dimensions, combining in a nearly additive manner. The second shows a less stable grouping effect using irregularly spaced lines as stimuli. In the third experiment, small deviations from uniformity are seen to produce a reliable attenuation of the cortical evoked potential.     

Period analytic algorithms for the estimation of selected spectral properties of short segments of EEG data

The accuracy and computational speed of three algorithms (spectral analysis, period analysis, and period amplitude analysis) for the extraction of spectral estimates from time-series data are empirically evaluated in the context of a neuropsychological experiment that requires estimates of power in the standard electroencephalographic frequency bands.     

Sometimes we fail

Pastoral Psychology -     

Pupillary responses in a pitch-discrimination task

Pupils were measured while observers made pitch judgments under the method of constant stimuli. A substantial dilation occurs immediately after the presentation of the comparison tone, and the size of this response is closely correlated to the difficulty of the discrimination. Baseline changes occur within each block of trials, but have little effect on the magnitude of dilations. Responses to redundant stimuli, including the standard itself, decrease during the experimental session. The results support the validity of pupillary measurements as an index of processing load.     

Predictor content matters for knowledge testing: Evidence supporting content validation

Organizations often rely on the match between job requirements and test content to justify test use. This practice has been questioned on the grounds that content validation has little relevance to criterion-related validation due to positive manifold among predictors. We analyze two large databases to assess the implications of test content for (a) test interchangeability and (b) criterion-related validity. Analyses of 15 knowledge tests administered (N = 80,394) as part of Project Talent demonstrate that test content is related to predictor interchangeability. Analyses of SAT and Advanced Placement test data compare correlations among predictors and criteria drawn from matched and unmatched content domains. We conclude that test-criterion content match is likely to result in stronger criterion-related validity.     

On the Distribution of Job Performance: The Role of Measurement Characteristics in Observed Departures from Normality

In a recent article, O'Boyle and Aguinis ( 2012 ) argued that job performance is not distributed normally but instead is nonnormal and highly skewed. However, we believe the extreme departures from normality observed by these authors may have been due to characteristics of performance measures used. To address this issue, we identify 7 measurement criteria that we argue must be present for inferences to be made about the distribution of job performance. Specifically, performance measures must: (a) reflect behavior, (b) include an aggregation of multiple behaviors, (c) include the full range of performers, (d) include the full range of performance, (e) be time bounded, (f) focus on comparable jobs, and (g) not be distorted by motivational forces. Next, we present data from a wide range of sources—including the workplace, laboratory, athletics, and computer simulations—that illustrate settings in which failing to meet one or more of these criteria led to a highly skewed distribution providing a better fit to the data than a normal distribution. However, measurement approaches that better align with the 7 criteria listed above resulted in a normal distribution providing a better fit. We conclude that large departures from normality are in many cases an artifact of measurement.