Samples in applied psychology: over a decade of research in review

This study examines sample characteristics of articles published in Journal of Applied Psychology (JAP) from 1995 to 2008. At the individual level, the overall median sample size over the period examined was approximately 173, which is generally adequate for detecting the average magnitude of effects of primary interest to researchers who publish in JAP. Samples using higher units of analyses (e.g., teams, departments/work units, and organizations) had lower median sample sizes (Mdn ≈ 65), yet were arguably robust given typical multilevel design choices of JAP authors despite the practical constraints of collecting data at higher units of analysis. A substantial proportion of studies used student samples (~40%); surprisingly, median sample sizes for student samples were smaller than working adult samples. Samples were more commonly occupationally homogeneous (~70%) than occupationally heterogeneous. U.S. and English-speaking participants made up the vast majority of samples, whereas Middle Eastern, African, and Latin American samples were largely unrepresented. On the basis of study results, recommendations are provided for authors, editors, and readers, which converge on 3 themes: (a) appropriateness and match between sample characteristics and research questions, (b) careful consideration of statistical power, and (c) the increased popularity of quantitative synthesis. Implications are discussed in terms of theory building, generalizability of research findings, and statistical power to detect effects.     

Psychological wellbeing of Turkish university students with physical impairments: an evaluation within the stress-vulnerability paradigm

Generally, universities in developing countries offer little in the way of provisions and support (material, emotional, etc.) for disabled students. Therefore, disabled students experience considerable burdens and barriers in their educational life. This study investigated the psychological wellbeing of disabled Turkish university students by examining influences on stress-related growth and psychological distress. Disability is defined within the framework of a social model. According to this view, impairment refers to the functional limitation(s) that affect(s) a person's body, whereas disability refers to the loss or limitation of opportunities owing to social, physical or psychological obstacles. Seventy disabled university students with physical impairments were administered a questionnaire package, including a sociodemographic information sheet, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, Stress-Related Growth Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Social Support, Life Events Inventory, and Brief Symptom Inventory. Snowball sampling was used and voluntary participation was essential. The results showed that disability burden, daily hassles, and helplessness coping were significant predictors of psychological symptoms. For stress-related growth the only variable that appeared significant was problem-solving coping. The results pointed out that there may be different pathways to distress and growth. In order to decrease psychological distress and enhance growth in disabled university students, disability awareness programs, changes in the barriers in the academic and physical environments of the university campuses, and coping skills training to increase problem-focused coping and to combat helplessness may prove to be effective. Reducing daily hassles for the disabled students is likely to contribute to their wellbeing by decreasing their burdens. Also, a more disability-friendly environment is likely to be empowering for disabled university students.     

Effects of decompressive surgery on prognosis and cognitive deficits in herpes simplex encephalitis

Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) is a serious viral infection with a high rate of mortality. The most commonly seen complications are behavioral changes, seizures and memory deficits. We report the case of a 37-year-old man with HSE in the right temporal lobe and a severe midline shift who was treated with acyclovir. The patient underwent anterior temporal lobe resection. Although HSE can cause permanent cognitive deficits, in this case, early surgical intervention minimized any deficit, as determined by detailed neuropsychological examination. Surgical decompression is indicated as early as possible in severe cases. This case report emphasizes the effect of surgical decompression for HSE on cognitive function, which has rarely been mentioned before.     

Interpersonal deviance, organizational deviance, and their common correlates: a review and meta-analysis

Interpersonal deviance (ID) and organizational deviance (OD) are highly correlated (R. S. Dalal, 2005). This, together with other empirical and theoretical evidence, calls into question the separability of ID and OD. As a further investigation into their separability, relationships among ID, OD, and their common correlates were meta-analyzed. ID and OD were highly correlated (rho = .62) but had differential relationships with key Big Five variables and organizational citizenship behaviors, which lends support to the separability of ID and OD. Whether the R. J. Bennett and S. L. Robinson (2000) instrument was used moderated some relationships. ID and OD exhibited their strongest (negative) relationships with organizational citizenship, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability. Correlations with organizational justice were small to moderate, and correlations with demographic variables were generally negligible.     

Presence and television.

Film and a number of emerging entertainment technologies offer media consumers an illusion of nonmediation known as presence. To investigate the possibility that television can evoke presence, 65 undergraduate students were shown brief examples of rapid point‐of‐view movement from commercially available videotapes on a television with either a small screen (12 inches [30.5 cm], measured diagonally) or a large screen (46 inches [116.8 cm]). Participants' responses were measured via a questionnaire and a computer‐based recording of arousal (electrodermal activity). Viewers of both televisions reported an enjoyable sense of physical movement, excitement, involvement, and a sense of participation. Furthermore, as predicted, participants who watched the large screen television thought the movement in the scenes was faster, experienced a greater sense of physical movement, enjoyed the movement to a greater extent, found the viewing experience more exciting, and were more physiologically aroused. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Academic performance, career potential, creativity, and job performance: can one construct predict them all?

This meta-analysis addresses the question of whether 1 general cognitive ability measure developed for predicting academic performance is valid for predicting performance in both educational and work domains. The validity of the Miller Analogies Test (MAT; W. S. Miller, 1960) for predicting 18 academic and work-related criteria was examined. MAT correlations with other cognitive tests (e.g., Raven's Matrices [J. C. Raven, 1965]; Graduate Record Examinations) also were meta-analyzed. The results indicate that the abilities measured by the MAT are shared with other cognitive ability instruments and that these abilities are generalizably valid predictors of academic and vocational criteria, as well as evaluations of career potential and creativity. These findings contradict the notion that intelligence at work is wholly different from intelligence at school, extending the voluminous literature that supports the broad importance of general cognitive ability (g).     

Job-specific applicant pools and national norms for personality scales: implications for range-restriction corrections in validation research

This article compares variability in national norms to variability in job-specific applicant pools for personality scales. Across 23,231 job applicants for 111 jobs, we found that job-specific applicant pools were slightly less variable than broad normative data (by about 4%) based on a national norm sample of 40,474 job applicants. For some personality variables, the amount of variability reduction correlated with work characteristics as captured by the Data, People and Things scales of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (US Department of Labor, 1977). Most correlations were small in magnitude. In general, the small reductions in job-specific applicant pool variability provide evidence that researchers' decisions to use manual norm group standard deviations in range restriction corrections has not appreciably inflated the personality-criterion relationships studied. Implications for attraction and gravitation to jobs are discussed.     

Association of prenatal attachment and early childhood emotional,behavioral, and developmental characteristics: A longitudinal study

This study examines the associations between prenatal attachment and child development, socioemotional behavioral problems, and competence at early childhood. It also inquires whether maternal depression and anxiety at the prenatal period and at early childhood are associated with child outcomes. The study consisted of 83 mothers and their children. Data regarding the prenatal attachment, depression, and anxiety were collected during Weeks 28 to 40 of gestation. When the children were 21 to 31 months old, the Brief Infant and Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) and the Ankara Developmental Screening Inventory (ADSI) were applied to children along with Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) administered to mothers. Results showed that prenatal attachment scores significantly correlated with BITSEA-Competency subscale scores and ADSI total scores at early childhood, r(83) = 0.246, P = .025, and r(82) = 0.316, P = .004, respectively. Prenatal attachment levels were found to be the predictors of both behavioral and emotional competence and development at early childhood, b = 0.081, t(83) = 2.273, P = .014, and b = 0.281, t(83) = 3.225, P = .002, respectively. In addition, prenatal attachment was shown to be even a stronger predictor of development than was worsening maternal depression at early childhood, b = −0.319, t(83) = 2.140, P = .035. Our results indicate that fostering prenatal attachment may be beneficial for better infant outcomes at early childhood.     

The moderating influence of job performance dimensions on convergence of supervisory and peer ratings of job performance: unconfounding construct-level convergence and rating difficulty

Meta-analysis was used to cumulate the correlations between supervisor and peer ratings for different dimensions of job performance. The general pattern in the data suggested that raters from the same organizational level disagree as much as raters from different levels. Methods were used to separate the effects of rating difficulty and lack of construct-level convergence on the correlation between supervisor and peer ratings. The authors found complete construct-level convergence for ratings of overall job performance, productivity, effort, job knowledge, quality, and leadership but not for ratings of administrative competence, interpersonal competence, and compliance or acceptance of authority. Higher rating difficulty was more strongly associated with lower mean observed peer-supervisor correlations than were construct-level disagreements between peers and supervisors. Implications for research and practice are discussed.