Designing Selection Systems for Medicine: The importance of balancing predictive and political validity in high‐stakes selection contexts

Selection into medical education and training is a high‐stakes process. A key unanswered issue is the effectiveness of measuring noncognitive predictors via both low‐fidelity and high‐fidelity selection approaches in this high‐stakes context. We review studies investigating the effectiveness of multiple selection instruments in terms of predictive validity, incremental validity, and applicant reactions in both entry‐level and advanced‐level medical selection. Our results show that the situational judgment test (SJT) is the best single predictor of performance, operationalized in multiple ways. In addition, the low‐fidelity SJT has incremental predictive power over cognitively oriented tests, and high‐fidelity assessment center (AC) exercises add incremental validity over the low‐fidelity (and less costly) selection methods. Concerning applicant reactions, results show that overall, the selection system is positively received. However, the method with the highest predictive validity – the SJT – received comparatively lower face validity ratings which may present a ‘justice dilemma’ for employers. Furthermore, various other stakeholders have a political interest in the selection methods used (e.g., government, the regulators and trade unions).     

Complexity of culture: the role of identity and context in bicultural individuals' body ideals

Culture plays an important role in shaping body image, and people from different cultures have different beliefs about what constitutes the "ideal" body type. This study examines the relationship between culture and body ideals in Asian-American and Black-American women. Results from two studies show that subjective cultural identity and situational cultural cues had different relationships with body ideals. Among Asian-American women, identification with Asian culture was related to a thinner body ideal, but exposure to Asian cultural cues (relative to American cultural cues) was related to a thicker body ideal. Among Black-American women, identification with Black culture was related to a thicker body ideal, but exposure to Black cultural cues (relative to American cultural cues) was related to a thinner body ideal. These results have theoretical and practical implications for understanding how internal and external manifestations of culture can differentially influence body image.     

Spatial learning in the rat: impairment induced by the thiol-proteinase inhibitor, leupeptin, and an analysis of [3H]glutamate receptor binding in relation to learning

Rats were given continuous intraventricular infusion of saline or the thiol-proteinase inhibitor leupeptin, via subcutaneously implanted osmotic minipumps, while being trained on a spatial learning water task using spaced trials. Leupeptin caused overnight forgetting during training, but performance eventually reached asymptote in both groups. A retention test conducted 48 h later to assess spatial memory revealed no significant group differences, but did cause, in saline-treated rats only, a disruption of subsequent retraining back to the correct spatial location. The groups showed no differences in Cl-dependent [3H]glutamate receptor binding to hippocampal or entorhinal cortex membranes subsequent to training. In a second experiment, normal rats trained on the same task also showed no differences in Cl-dependent [3H]glutamate binding relative to rats exposed to the water task but given random spatial position training and handled controls. The results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis of Lynch and Baudry (Science (1984) 224, 1057-1063) that a calcium-dependent thiol proteinase is involved in memory formation through its ability to modify glutamate receptor distribution and dendritic spine shape.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Positive Work Experiences and Women's Sense of Self in the Context of Partner Abuse

In this study we examined the relationships among partner abuse, work quality, and women's sense of self. In particular, we explored the potential for women's work to serve as an alternative source of feedback for the self in the context of partner abuse. The sample consisted of 100 working women who reported experiencing a range of partner abuse. Relationships among partner abuse, work quality, and three self constructs were tested using multivariate multiple regression. Work quality was significantly and positively associated with self at work and general self-esteem and approached significance for self at home. There were no significant associations between partner abuse and self at work. Partner abuse was negatively and significantly associated with self at home and approached significance for self-esteem. These varied results support the importance of assessing multiple aspects of the self and the potential of women's work to be a resource in the context of partner abuse.