ITEM GENERATION PROCEDURES AND BACKGROUND DATA SCALES: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSTRUCT AND CRITERION-RELATED VALIDITY

Background data measures are one of the best predictors of job performance. Nonetheless, questions have been raised about their content and construct validity. The present effort describes a set of procedures for developing construct and content valid background data items. Data gathered in seven field studies and six laboratory studies are presented bearing on the reliability and validity of the measures constructed using these item generation procedures. Findings in these studies indicate that construct-based item generation procedures yield reliable scales evidencing both content and construct validity. Furthermore, these scales are capable of predicting performance in a variety of settings. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings for the development and validation of background data measures are discussed.     

AN AMERICAN NATURALIST ACCOUNT OF CULTURE

The basic tenets of “classical” naturalism (exemplified in the work of Mead, Buchler, and Randall, among others) are delineated and distinguished from other versions of naturalism. Classical naturalism is also distinguished from reductive materialism and idealism. Nature is asserted to be indefinitely plural and not amenable to monistic or dualistic categorial schemes; that is, the principle of “ontological parity” is maintained. The method of inquiry of naturalism is outlined, along with the notion of truth as perspectivally objective. The metaphysical hypotheses are then used to examine culture. Culture is found to be the specific environment of human being, arising out of, but irreducible to, other natural processes. Culture is described as the cumulative gestures of the human social organism as it discovers and creates itself in mutual constitution with other natural processes and products.     

Dimensionality and validity of two scales measuring different aspects of self-esteem

Two self-esteem (SE) scales aimed to measure self-esteem–conceptualized primarily (a) as the individual's ego-integrated libidinous and aggressive drives and their derivatives (Basic SE), and (b) as the need to earn self-esteem by competence and others' appraisal (Earning SE)–were developed and factor analysed. In order to construct- and cross-validate the scales, they were related to other well-known personality scales as well as to a projective technique (TAT) in two independent samples of first semester psychology students ( n = 153, n = 82). The empirical factor structure coincided well with the theoretical formulations. Basic SE showed concurrent validity being highly correlated ( p < 0.001) with both Rosenberg's and Coopersmith's self-esteem scales and highly or moderately with Neuroticism, Extraversion (EPQ) and Test-Anxicty (TAS) in both samples. Earning SE gained some construct validation by its relation to Type-A scores (JAS) as well as to verbal fantasy stories on TAT-pictures measuring Need of Achievement.     

Adolescents' romantic relationships and the structure and quality of their close interpersonal ties

Several interpersonal theories suggest that adolescents' romantic relationships are associated with distinct patterns of social experience. In this study, 1,049 adolescents indicated whether they had a boy/girlfriend and the temporal duration of the relationship. They described the structure of their peer networks and the quality of their relationships with a parent/adult and best friend. Adolescents with a boy/girlfriend reported larger networks, more opposite-sex friends, and more nonschool friends. Adolescents with longer romantic relationships reported more social support with the boy/girlfriend than did adolescents with short-term romantic relationships. Temporal duration also moderated the salience of the romantic relationship. Those of short duration were viewed less favorably than friend and parent/adult relationships, whereas those of longer duration were viewed more favorably. Finally, continuity in perceived quality was evident between romantic and other relationships. Overall, the results support the view that romantic relationships are embedded within adolescents' ongoing social experience and show important links to the structure and quality of their relationships with parents and with peers.     

A Survey of Job Attitudes of Federal Prison Employees

Turner and Johnson attempted to determine the attitudes of federal prison employees regarding job satisfaction and personal safety. They designed a questionnaire to measure these factors and sent it to 147 workers in 19 federal correctional institutions. The results of the questionnaire, which had a return rate of 80%, generally indicate a high level of job satisfaction and relatively little concern about safety among employees who completed the questionnaire.     

LEADER INFLUENCE IN THE ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE

The role requirements of leaders in an assessment group context were manipulated in a laboratory simulation. Discussion leaders (chairholders) either did or did not have first hand contact with an individual who was being assessed. Furthermore, chairholders were either allowed a formal say in the group's decision or were not. As predicted, different configurations of role requirements had an impact on the influence wielded by the chair, as indexed by measures of group process, group decision, accuracy and group member attitudes. Both prior contact and voting rights had direct and interactive effects and served to increase chair influence. Particular role requirement combinations also produced a type of group disruption as reflected in group member ratings of the quality of the session. The results of the study are discussed in forms of implications for the standardization of procedures in assessment center programs.     

Primordial Image and the Archetypal Design of Art

This paper extends Jung's work on the relationship of art to (postulated) archetypes of the collective unconscious. Archetypes of the collective unconscious, according to Jung, are revealed to ego consciousness only by way of images--images of a specific form. Jung suggests that archetypes, primordial images, combine two aspects in a single form and are therefore paradoxical. The wise old man and youth and hermaphrodites illustrate Jung's definition of a primordial image. My study of Jung's illustrations concludes that he is referring to what I term double-figures as the design form of primordial imagery. I elaborate upon the design form of double-figures, and illustrate my conception of archetypal imagery through comparative analysis of nine cases of double-figure imagery from selected prehistoric and contemporary societies. Double-figures, as archetypal primordial imagery of the collective unconscious, are spontaneously generated, autonomous, and known to a wide variety of societies. I distinguish between form and content in the study of primordial imagery, and conclude with a summary of the importance of Jung to the cross-cultural study of art.     

Attribution Retraining as a Structured Group Counseling Intervention

The efficacy of attribution retraining as a structured group counseling intervention was tested. Participants were classified as having either an adaptive or nonadaptive attributional style. Three groups of participants were then created: Adaptive Group, Nonadaptive Group, Treatment Group (nonadaptive attributional style participants who received treatment involving attribution retraining). Results indicated that participants in the Treatment Group made relatively more adaptive attributions (similar to the adaptive Group) for an experimentally induced uncontrollable failure and reported lower levels of depressive mood than the Nonadaptive Group. Results are discussed as providing partial support for the efficacy of attribution retraining as a structured group counseling intervention.     

Marital Status and Gender Similarity in Marital Therapy

This analogue study was designed to examine the effects of therapists' marital status and therapist and participant sex on participants' perceptions of therapist and expectations for therapy. Each partner of 20 couples presenting for marital therapy at four outpatient counseling centers independently completed one of four protocols. The protocols differed only on the therapist's marital status and sex. Results revealed that neither therapist marital status nor therapist sex had an effect on participants' perceptions of therapists or therapy expectations. Female participants, however, perceived therapists as more trustworthy, attractive, and expert and had higher expectations for therapy than did male participants.     

Multiculturalism and Rehabilitation Counselor Training: Recommendations for Providing Culturally Appropriate Counseling Services to American Indians With Disabilities

American Indians exhibit health-related problems at younger ages, as compared with the general population. They also have a disproportionate number of deaths related to alcoholism, accidents, homicides, pneumonia, influenza, diabetes mellitus, and tuberculosis as compared with the general population. In terms of mental health, depression and adjustment reactions are common problems, with the suicide rate among American Indian adults being more than twice as high as that for the general population. This article delineates specific steps necessary to successfully recruit and retain American Indians in counselor training programs, proposes a curriculum for training counselors to effectively provide services to American Indians with disabilities, and discusses the responsibility of counselor educators to concern themselves with the “job placement” of their graduates. En comparación con la población engeneral, los indios americanos tienen problemas de salud a edades más jovenes y tienen un número de mortandad deproporcionada debida al alcoholismo, acidentes, homicidios, neumonía, gripe, diabetes mellitus, y tuberculosis. En terminos de salud mental, reaciones a depresión y adaptación son problemas comunes, con la media de suicidios superior al doble de la cifra para la población general. Este artículo delinea medidas específicas que son necesarias para atraer y retener indios americanos en programas de entrenamiento de consejería, propone un programa para entrenar consejeros para el suministro eficaz de servicios a indios americanos incapacitados, y discute la responsabilidad de los educadores de consejeros para implicarlos en la búsqueda de un empleo para sus graduados.