First graders' literacy and self-regulation gains: The effect of individualizing student instruction

We examined the effect of individualizing student instruction (ISI; N = 445 students, 46 classrooms) on first graders' self-regulation gains compared to a business-as-usual control group. Self-regulation, conceptualized as a constellation of executive skills, was positively associated with academic development. We hypothesized that the ISI intervention's emphasis on teacher planning and organization, classroom management, and the opportunity for students to work independently and in small groups would promote students' self-regulation. We found no main effect of ISI on self-regulation gains. However, for students with weaker initial self-regulation, ISI was associated with greater self-regulation gains compared to peers in control classrooms. The ISI effect on self-regulation was greater when the intervention was more fully implemented.     

Web‐based Multisource Reference Checking: An investigation of psychometric integrity and applied benefits

Reference checking is a near‐universal practice within personnel selection systems, and legal pressures to gather job‐relevant and structured feedback from references is mounting. Despite this state of affairs, reference checking is a woefully under‐researched method for obtaining psychometrically sound and behaviorally informative data that predict task, team, and leadership behavior at work. From studies of job candidates in applied settings, this article reports on the reliability, validity, and compliance of multisource reference feedback gathered using a web‐based methodology. Acceptable levels of internal consistency, inter‐rater reliability, and test–retest reliability of the reference‐checking instrument were realized. Results of survival analyses found support for prediction of involuntary, but not voluntary turnover. No practically significant differences were found in overall mean scores across demographic subgroups. Finally, the web‐based reference‐checking system evinced high degrees of efficiencies across a range of metrics (e.g., reference response time, reference response rate, candidate response time).     

Intentional Objects,Pretence, and the Quasi-Relational Nature of Mental Phenomena: A New Look at Brentano on Intentionality

Abstract

Brentano famously changed his mind about intentionality between the 1874 and 1911 editions of Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint (PES). The 1911 edition repudiates the 1874 view that to think about something is to stand in a relation to something that is within in the mind, and holds instead that intentionality is only like a relation (it is ‘quasi-relational’). Despite this, Brentano still insists that mental activity involves ‘the reference to something as an object’, much as he did in the 1874 edition of PES. The question is what Brentano might have meant by this, given that he rejects a relational account of intentionality. The present paper suggests an answer. It draws on recent work on pretence theory to provide a model of Brentano’s notion of the quasi-relational nature of mental phenomena, as well as of the notion of mental reference to an object, and argues that the model helps to explain why Brentano might have been able discern a clear continuity between the views of the 1874 and 1911 editions of PES, despite the differences.     

Item grouping and item randomization in personality measurement

This paper describes a study examining the impact of item order in personality measurement on reliability, measurement equivalence and scale-level correlations. A large sample of university students completed one of three forms of the International Personality Item Pool version of the Big Five personality inventory: items sorted at random, items sorted by factor, and items cycled through factors. Results showed that the underlying measurement model and the internal consistency of the IPIP-Big Five scale was unaffected by differences in item order. Also, most of the scale-level correlations among factors were not significantly different across forms. Implications for the administration of tests and interpretation of test scores are discussed, and future research directions are offered.     

The Multitasking Preference Inventory: Toward an Improved Measure of Individual Differences in Polychronicity

This article describes the initial development of a new measure of individual polychronicity, a construct indicating a preference for multitasking as opposed to performing only one task at a time. Following a brief review of past definitional issues, a revised definition is offered and a new measure of polychronicity—the Multitasking Preference Inventory (MPI)—is created based on this definition. Three studies describe the creation, pilot testing, and psychometric refinement of an initial pool of items (Study 1); a convergent and discriminant validity analysis (Study 2); and initial findings with respect to the criterion-related validity of scores on the MPI (Study 3). Together, these findings provide preliminary evidence for the reliability of scores on the MPI and the validity of the MPI in predicting variables relevant to multitasking.     

The Team Personality–Team Performance Relationship Revisited: The Impact of Criterion Choice,Pattern of Workflow,and Method of Aggregation

Using meta-analytic evidence, this study tested trait- and task-based theoretical approaches to team personality management, using both team behaviors and team outcomes as criteria. Trait theories state that maximization of the team trait is harmful for Extroversion (complementary team fit) but beneficial for Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability (supplementary fit). Task-based theories state that tasks with few work exchanges are best reflected by mean trait scores, whereas tasks with frequent work exchanges are best represented by other types of scores (e.g., minimum score). Correlations between different aggregations of team personality and team performance were coded, as well as the study criterion choice and the pattern of workflow (as moderators). Partial support for both trait and task theories were found. Team Conscientiousness and Agreeableness provided supplementary fit primarily with team behaviors, but there was mixed evidence that Extroversion provided complementary fit. Furthermore, minimum and variance measures of the team trait related to team performance in tasks with frequent work exchanges, but not in tasks with few work exchanges. Results suggest several limitations with existing measurement methods, which are discussed.