Assessment Strategies for the Handicapped

This review of assessment strategies for handicapped populations is intended to provide counselors with assessment perspectives as well as specific suggestions. The review emphasizes the counselor's role as a member of a diagnostic team and the need to consider a variety of information in the formation of meaningful intervention strategies.     

JOB SURVIVAL OF NEW EMPLOYEES1

The job survival of 1,736 newly hired workers across a variety of organizations is examined. Voluntary and involuntary turnover are analyzed separately over the first 29 weeks on the job. Moderate support is found for a theory of job survival which distinguishes between the effects of job attitudes on voluntary withdrawal and job performance on involuntary withdrawal. Organization related factors such as pay and training are better predictors of job survival than are individual variables such as race, sex, age, and education.     

PERCEPTIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCE: A COGNITIVE INFORMATION PROCESSING APPROACH FOR EXPLAINING MODERATED RELATIONSHIPS

A hypothesis of consistency in cognitive information processing of perceptions of psychological influence (perceived influence of decisions made by a supervisor) was proposed and tested. The hypothesis stated that if (a) having influence was of sufficient importance to a subordinate to effect selective attention to supervisor behaviors that reflected opportunities for influence, then (b) the subordinate would employ perceptions of influence in behavioral decisions (performance) and affective reactions (anxiety, satisfaction). The hypothesis received support in a study of 363 Navy enlisted aircraft maintenance personnel, where selective attentiveness to opportunities for influence was determined by assessing the fit between personal characteristics of a subordinate (e.g., achievement motivation) and the degree of overload in the work environment. Results suggested that relations between perceptions of influence and attitudes/performance should be expected only for those individuals who are attentive to opportunities for influence in the early stages of cognitive processing. Implications of these results for future scientific and professional endeavors are discussed.     

Counseling and Consulting: Separate Processes or the Same?

This article examines the theoretical similarities and differences between the counseling and consulting processes and finds that differences between the two processes are reflections of the differences found among the counselors who use them.     

BLACK-WHITE DIFFERENCES IN WORK ENVIRONMENT PERCEPTIONS AND JOB SATISFACTION AND ITS CORRELATES

Numerous studies have reported racial differences in intelligence, abilities, motivation, job satisfaction, and so forth. Relatively few of these studies, however, limited their comparisons to blacks and whites experiencing similar work conditions. The present effort compared black ( n = 166) and white ( n = 1,451) sailors assigned to the same shipboard divisions in order to investigate possible differences in perceived work conditions, satisfaction, need strength, and relationships among these variables. Also explored were two hypothesized sources of race-related satisfaction differences–differences in perceived work conditions and differences in need strength. The results tended to support the need strength hypothesis although satisfaction differences were fewer than expected.     

Observations on Loss and Family Development

This article examines the role of death and loss in family developmental processes. Aspects of family development are described, followed by an exploration of the impact of loss on family functioning and development. We present a typology of initial family response styles to the death of a member as well as some immediate and longer-term patterns of adaptation after a loss. The article concludes with a case example and a discussion of multigenerational sequelae of unresolved bereavement in family systems.     

A FIELD EXPERIMENT TESTING SUPERVISORY ROLE CLARIFICATION

An intervention designed to clarify individual roles was tested experimentally on the business service division of a major university. Following a pre-test which identified role stress as a significant problem in the organization, top managers clarified their respective departmental roles in meeting organizational objectives. This was followed by a post-test (Time 2) survey of workers'stressors and symptoms. Supervisors were then trained in the method of clarifying subordinate roles using a dyadic exchange process. Workers were randomly assigned to either participate in a thorough role clarification discussion with their supervisors or join a wait-list control group. Based on a follow-up (Time 3) questionnaire, the intervention appeared to reduce role ambiguity and supervisor dissatisfaction. There were no effects on other aspects of subjective strain, physical symptoms, or time lost due to illness. Role conflict decreased in both the experimental and control groups. We discuss the implications of these findings for systemic efforts to reduce employee stress.