PROBLEMS WITH THE USE OF PROFILE SIMILARITY INDICES IN THE STUDY OF CONGRUENCE IN ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH

Profile similarity indices (PSIs) have become widely used in studies of congruence (i.e., fit, matching, similarity, agreement) in organizational research. PSIs combine two sets of measures, or profiles, from corresponding entities (e.g., the person and organization, supervisor and subordinate, organization and environment) into a single score intended to represent their overall congruence. Unfortunately, PSIs are conceptually ambiguous, discard information essential to testing congruence hypotheses, conceal the source of the difference between entities, and impose a highly restrictive set of constraints on the coefficients relating the measures comprising the PSI to the outcome. This article shows how polynomial regression analysis may be used to avoid problems with PSIs while capturing the underlying relationships PSIs are intended to represent. Limitations and extensions to the procedure are discussed.     

Scale analysis and the measurement of social attitudes

This paper discusses and compares the methods of attitude scale construction of Thurstone (method of equal-appearing intervals), Likert (method of summated ratings), and Guttman (method of scale analysis), with special emphasis on the latter as one of the most recent and significant contributions to the field. Despite a certain lack of methodological precision, scale analysis provides a means of evaluating the uni-dimensionality of a set of items. If the criteria for uni-dimensionality are met, the interpretation of rank-order scores is made unambiguous, and efficiency of prediction from the set of items is maximized. The Guttman technique, however, provides no satisfactory means of selecting the original set of items for scale analysis. Preliminary studies indicated that both the Likert and the Thurstone methods tend to select scalable sets of items and that their functions in this respect are complementary. A method of combining the Likert and Thurstone methods in order to yield a highly scalable set of items is outlined. Sets of 14 items selected by the method have, in the two cases where the technique has been tried, yielded very satisfactory scalability.     

Psychometric Properties of the Cultural Intelligence Scale in a Saudi Arabian Context

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the cultural intelligence scale (CQS) in a Saudi Arabian context. The CQS was administered to a random sample of 553 undergraduate students at Hail University. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the four‐factor structure of the CQS: cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, and behavioral. In addition, the results of a second‐order CFA indicated that these four factors can be further collapsed into one general factor. The CQS showed adequate internal consistency and test–retest reliability as well as convergent and discriminant validity. The results further revealed no significant differences between males and females. In sum, results suggest that the Arabic version of the CQS is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring an individual's intercultural intelligence.     

INVESTMENT IN WORK AND FAMILY ROLES: A TEST OF IDENTITY AND UTILITARIAN MOTIVES

This study compared identity and utilitarian motives as predictors of time investment in work and family roles, using structural equation modeling with a sample of 623 working men and women. We tested within-role and cross-role relationships as well as the reciprocal effects of time invested in one role on time invested in the other role. As predicted, identification with a role was positively related to time invested in that role. However, findings for role utility were more complex. Time investment was positively related to both the pleasure and displeasure associated with a role. These findings suggest that people not only seek pleasure from roles but also invest time coping with role displeasure. The cross-role findings supported resource drain and accommodation but not compensation as explanations of work-family linking mechanisms. Gender analyses suggested that, for men, increased work time investment reduced time devoted to family, but increased family time investment did not affect time devoted to work. However, for women, increased time investment in either work or family reduced time devoted to the other role. These findings suggest that men may have greater reserves of time from roles other than work and family that make it unnecessary for them to draw from work time to meet increased family demands.     

A Career Assistance Program for Elite Athletes

A program to assist elite athletes in coping with the transition out of active sport competition is presented. A life span development framework is used to describe the formulation of the program. An outline of the program is presented, and implications for counselors are discussed.