THE EFFECT OF SEX SIMILARITY ON RECRUITERS' EVALUATIONS OF ACTUAL APPLICANTS: A TEST OF THE SIMILARITY-ATTRACTION PARADIGM

The present study examined the effect of sex similarity on recruiters' evaluations of actual applicants in campus interviews and tested whether perceived similarity and interpersonal attraction mediated this effect. Structural equation modeling was performed on data from 476 campus interviews. The results revealed complex effects of sex similarity on recruiters' decision processes. Perceived similarity and interpersonal attraction mediated the effect of sex similarity on female recruiters' assessments of applicants' qualifications. Unexpectedly, female recruiters saw male applicants as more similar to themselves and more qualified than female applicants. For male recruiters, interview outcomes were not affected by sex similarity. Social identity theory, which suggests that the status associated with demographic characteristics may influence the nature of demographic similarity effects, provides a possible explanation for the findings.     

CORRECTING THE 16PF FOR FAKING: EFFECTS ON CRITERION-RELATED VALIDITY AND INDIVIDUAL HIRING DECISIONS

The effects of correcting a personality measure for faking were evaluated within an organizational context. Two possible repercussions of score correction were studied using the 16PF personality inventory: the effect on criterion-related validity and the effect on individual hiring decisions (i.e., which applicants would or would not be hired). Results indicated that correction for faking had little effect on criterion-related validity. However, depending on the selection ratio, correction of scores would have resulted in different hiring decisions than those that would have been made on the basis of uncorrected scores. Implications for organizations using personality measures for selection and recommendations regarding the use of faking corrections are discussed.     

A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN GOAL SETTING ON EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION1

Two hundred and forty-five working level scientists and engineers participated in a longitudinal study in which their managers had been trained in a Management by Objectives program. Subjects completed two questionnaries, the latter being completed 21 months after the first designed to assess perceptions of their managers' goal setting behavior along four dimensions derived using factor analytic procedures (Goal Clarity and Planning, Subordinate Freedom, Feedback and Evaluation, Participation in Goal Setting) and their reported intrinsic, extrinsic and total satisfaction. Dynamic correlations (Vroom, 1966) were computed between changes in the goal setting factors and changes in the satisfaction variables and significant positive relationships were observed. In addition, results indicated that job task (research vs. development) demonstrated a moderating influence on the goal setting-satisfaction relationships. An unexpected finding was that there was a significant decrease in perceived managerial behavior on the Goal Clarity and Planning factor over the 21 months. However, a significant increase occurred on the Feedback and Evaluation factor. Since no control group was available for comparison, little can be said about whether these changes were a result of the MBO program. Significant differences between the development and the research subjects were also observed on two of the goal setting factors.     

DESIGNING INCENTIVE PLANS FOR UNIONIZED EMPLOYEES: A COMPARISON OF CONTINUOUS AND VARIABLE RATIO REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES1

The relative effectiveness of incentive plans administered on continuous and VR-4 schedules of reinforcement was investigated with unionized employees using a within subjects design. Mountain beaver trappers working side by side were randomly assigned to one of two groups. In group A the trappers received $1.00 for every rat they trapped. At the end of four weeks, they were switched to a VR-4 schedule in which they received $4.00 contingent upon trapping a rat and correctly guessing the color of one of four marbles prior to drawing it from a bag held by the supervisor. In group B the order of the schedules was reversed. The results were analyzed in terms of cost-related, behavioral, and reaction criteria. The study increased employee productivity and decreased costs for the company. Inexperienced workers had higher productivity on the continuous reinforcement than on the VR-4 schedule; experienced workers had higher productivity on the VR-4 schedule than on the continuous schedule. Both the experienced and the inexperienced employees preferred the VR-4 schedule over the continuous schedule.     

INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION, INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES, GOAL DIFFICULTY, GOAL ACCEPTANCE, GOAL INSTRUMENTALITY, AND PERFORMANCE

A field study was conducted with 41 female typists in a large corporation to test an explanatory model of goal setting. Weekly productivity goals were either assigned by the supervisors or were set jointly with a typist. Goals were set for ten consecutive weeks. A correlational analysis of the data indicated that difficult goals led to higher performance. Higher performance led to higher absolute goals for the subsequent week, but smaller improvement goals. Persons with a high need for achievement and an internal control orientation set higher goals. Goal setting led to greater overall performance improvement for employees who had high self esteem or who perceived goal attainment to be instrumental for getting extrinsic rewards. Hypothesized relationships involving goal acceptance were not supported, which may have been due to a lack of validity for the goal acceptance measure.     

Group Orientation for Persons on Probation or Parole

The group orientation program described in this article is a systematic attempt to transmit information and initiate a counseling relationship with persons newly placed on probation or parole. The group orientation process reduced tension and allowed reluctant clients to be guided into a helping relationship. Following the group sessions, individual meetings are designed to capitalize on those gains. During one 7-month period, 130 persons went through the group orientation, and 81 of these were subsequently transferred to reduced supervision.