FURTHER WITHIN-SETTING EMPIRICAL TESTS OF THE SITUATIONAL SPECIFICITY HYPOTHESIS IN PERSONNEL SELECTION

The situational specificity hypothesis in personnel selection holds that variation in observed validity coefficients across studies for the same test and job is due to subtle variations from setting to setting in what constitutes job performance. This hypothesis therefore predicts that, if the setting does not vary, validity will not vary. Using data from a single large-sample validity study ( N = 1,455), this research generated numerous small-sample studies for which the setting (organization, job, test, criterion measure, applicant pool, time period, and sample size) was held constant. It was found that even under these circumstances there was substantial variability across studies in (a) observed validity coefficients, (b) significance levels, and (c) (using traditional data analytic methods) conclusions about the presence or absence of validity. These findings disconfirm the situational specificity hypothesis and argue strongly against traditional data-analytic procedures and the practice of reliance on single small-sample studies. In contrast to the erroneous conclusions produced by traditional data-analytic procedures, meta-analytic methods correctly estimated the population observed validity at .22 and correctly indicated that all between-study variance in observed validities was due to sampling error alone.     

The Individuality and Connectedness Q-sort: A measure for assessing individuality and connectedness in dyadic relationships

A Q-sort, based on Grotevant and Cooper's (1986) model of individuation, was developed to assess individuality and connectedness in dyadic relationships. A criterion sort for each construct was developed on the basis of ratings from eight experts. The mean intercorrelation among the eight raters was .85 for individuality and .89 for connectedness. This Q-sort was then used to rate 46 middle-class Caucasian parents who were previously assessed on similar constructs using a micro-coding method, the Family Discourse Code (Condon, Cooper, & Grotevant, 1984). Correlations between similar constructs were significant. This Q-sort has five improvements over the Family Discourse Code: Behaviors representing the absence as well as the presence of a construct are coded; salience as well as frequency of behavior determines item placement; coders do not require knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of items; there is less chance of response bias; and it provides a means of standardizing the assessment of individuality and connectedness across samples.     

Sibling Set Configuration and Family Dysfunction

The relationships between sex and birth order of the sibling set, number of parents in the primary family unit, and family dysfunction were assessed. The sample was restricted to two-child and three-child families, all of school age, and all living with one or both natural parents only, i.e., no one else was in the household. Chi-square analyses indicated that the likelihood of a family seeking treatment for one of their children was lowest with all girl sibling sets, intermediate with all boy sibling sets and with sibling sets in which all the girls were older than all the boys, and highest with sibling sets in which at least one boy was older than one girl. The patterns were stronger for two-parent than single-parent families. The results were interpreted in terms of two factors: (a) the relative commitment of boys and girls to supporting family norms, and (b) the relative stability of a family culture in same gender versus mixed gender sibling sets.     

EXPLORING BLACK-WHITE SUBGROUP DIFFERENCES OF MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES

This study investigates whether different job-relevant competencies vary in terms of Black-White subgroup differences exhibited. There were 633 participants (545 Whites, 88 Blacks) who completed a managerial assessment center that evaluated 13 competency dimensions across 8 assessment exercises. Participants also completed a cognitive ability test. The results suggest that subgroup differences vary by the content domain of the competency. As predicted, significant subgroup differences emerged for a majority of the more cognitively loaded competencies (e.g., judgment) while nonsignificant differences were associated with a majority of the less cognitively loaded competencies (e.g., human relations). Furthermore, when cognitive ability was controlled, 12 of 13 competency scores demonstrated incremental validity in predicting supervisory job performance ratings. In addition, competencies with greater cognitive load tended to more strongly predict cognitive aspects of job performance as compared to noncognitive aspects. However, competencies with less cognitive load did not differentially predict cognitive and noncognitive aspects of job performance.     

ANALYZING UTTERANCES AS THE OBSERVATIONAL UNIT

If utterances are the observational unit of analysis and there are no sequential patterns to the interaction, two alternative statistical models may be applied. A hierarchical design in which utterances are nested within subjects and subjects are nested within treatment condition is considered. One method of analysis pools utterances within treatment condition; the other method collapses across utterances to obtain subject means. Inappropriate application of the pooling model instead of the subject means model can lead to Type I errors, decreased generalizability, and inflated variance estimates that attenuate univariate and multivariate correlations. The effect of utterance reliability on the apparent unidimensionality and parallelism of multiple indicators is also discussed.