THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF JOB SELECTION METHODS ON SIZE, PRODUCTIVITY, AND PAYROLL COSTS OF THE FEDERAL WORK FORCE: AN EMPIRICALLY BASED DEMONSTRATION

In this study, job performance increases resulting from improved selection validity were measured empirically rather than estimated from the standard linear regression utility equations. Selection utility analyses based on these empirical measurements were carried out for most white-collar jobs in the federal government. Results indicate that selection of a one-year cohort based on valid measures of cognitive ability, rather than on non-test procedures (mostly evaluations of education and experience), produces increases in output worth up to $600 million for each year that the new employees remain employed by the government. Newly hired federal employees remain with the government an average of approximately 13 years, resulting in a total gain in output of almost $8 billion over this period. This gain represents a 9.7% increase in output among new hires. If total output is held constant rather than increased, new hiring can be reduced by up to 20,044 per year (a 9% decrease), resulting in payroll savings of $272 million for every year the new cohort of employees remains on the job. The percentage of new hires in the bottom decile of the non-test-selected job performance distribution     

Dimensions of verbal denial in myocardial infarction: Correlates to 3 denial scales

The concept of denial in medical patients was reviewed, and problems in the past research on denial was noted. A questionnaire developed to assess different aspects of denial in myocardial infarction was tested in a group of 367 patients. A factor analysis of the questionnaire gave 3 independent factors, termed Denial of Illness, Denial of Impact, and Suppression. This finding gave support to the model that guided the construction of the questionnaire, and also casted some doubt on the validity of using either single specific or global criteria in assessing denial. Multiple regression analyses, including a series of medical, psychological and social variables, showed that social desirablity and external health locus of control contributed to the prediction of high scores on all 3 scales. Denial of Illness was furthermore associatd with less previous cardiac disease and a less severe index MI, whereas Denial of Impact was related to indicators of more optimistic attitudes. Suppression was related to indicators of lower socio-economic status and less cardiac health knowledge. The 3 scales should be further examined in relation to outcome after a myocardial infarction.     

THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF WORKSITE WELLNESS PROGRAMS FOR HYPERTENSION CONTROL, WEIGHT LOSS, SMOKING CESSATION, AND EXERCISE

The cost-effectiveness of three types of worksite wellness programs for reducing the cardiovascular disease risk factors of employees was examined at three manufacturing plants in terms of their incremental costs and effectiveness over a comparison site that used a simpler and cheaper program design. The risks targeted were hypertension, obesity, cigarette smoking, and lack of regular physical exercise. The annual direct cost per employee for post-screening interventions was $17.68 for Site A (the comparison site that offered health education classes), $39.28 for Site B (physical fitness facility), $30.96 for Site C (health education plus follow-up counseling), and $38.57 for Site D (health education, follow-up counseling, plus plant organization for health promotion). The addition of a physical fitness facility (Site B) did not produce any incremental benefit in reducing risks, as compared with health education classes (Site A), and Site B showed the lowest percentage of employees exercising regularly at the end of the 3-year study period. In contrast, the sites that used systematic outreach and follow-up counseling (Sites C and D) were more effective than both     

What You Should Know About Behavioral Assessment

The article provides the reader with an introduction to behavioral assessment. The assumptions and methods of behavioral assessment are described and are then compared and contrasted with those of traditional assessment. Recent developments in behavioral assessments are reviewed. Two case examples illustrate many of the principles and methods of behavioral assessment that are discussed.     

Employment of Recent University Business Graduates: Do Age,Gender, and Minority Status Make a Difference?

This study examined differences in the process of job search based on age, gender, and minority status. A sample of 398 recent business graduates of a southern university completed a survey on their current status and job search process, which was matched to their academic record. Results showed that women had higher GPAs than did men, but fewer women went on to graduate school immediately after graduation. African Americans had lower GPAs at graduation, were more likely to have used the university placement center, and were less likely to have had internships than Whites. These results are discussed in terms of providing better preemployment opportunities for women and African Americans and in terms of a realistic employment preview mechanism for all students.     

The Effects of Task-Specific Divergent-Thinking Training

Although there is a growing body of evidence indicating that divergent-thinking skills may be very task specific, there has been no research testing how narrowly divergent-thinking training can be targeted. Seventy-nine seventh-grade students received training in poetry-relevant divergent-thinking skills. These subjects and a matched control group later wrote poems and stories, the creativity of which was judged by experts. There was a significantly greater impact on poetry-writing creativity. Implications for creativity theory and training programs are discussed. Numerous research reports (Baer, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994a, 1994b, in press-a; Runco, 1987, 1989) have shown that the skills underlying creative performance may be quite task specific, and this suggests possible limitations on the potential benefits of divergent-thinking training. One response to this task-specific understanding of divergent thinking has been to design divergent-thinking training programs that include practice in a wide range of task-specific divergent-thinking skills. This approach has been shown to have a general effect of enhancing creativity in diverse domains (Baer, 1988, 1992, 1993). An alternate approach would be to target training to specific kinds of creativity; however, there has been no research investigating just how narrowly such divergent-thinking training can be targeted. The present investigation was designed to test what effect divergent-thinking training focusing on a single task would have on creative performance on that task and on a different, but closely related, task. The larger goals were (a) to help creativity researchers better understand the nature of divergent thinking as it impacts creative performance and (b) to be of practical value in helping educators design training programs better suited to specific training objectives. Seventh-grade students were trained in divergent- thinking skills hypothesized to be related to poetry — writing creativity. Following this training, trained subjects and a matched sample of untrained subjects wrote both poems and stories in their regular English classes. Poems and stories were judged for creativity by experts who did not know the subjects. It was predicted that training in poetry-relevant divergent thinking would result in a greater increase in creativity on a poetry-writing task than on a story-writing task.     

Responsibility, Control, and Omissions

Previously, I have argued that moral responsibility for actions is associated with guidance control. This sort of control does not necessarily involve the freedom to do otherwise. In this paper I extend the view to apply to omissions. That is, moral responsibility for an omission is associated with guidance control of that omission. This helps to provide a systematic, unified account of moral responsibility.     

The Morality of Influencing in Counseling

It is the author's intention to help counselors think through the various ways in which they influence their clients and assess the morality of various alternative counseling decisions. The task is a complex one because of the widely varied counseling situations. To consider a wide variety of contexts simultaneously, the author formulates a matrix of influencing that is used to generate a series of questions that have moral significance in counseling contexts. Each question is given extensive discussion. Alternative answers and their moral implications are considered. Examples are used throughout to clarify moral problems and the moral implications of counseling decisions.     

The University Counseling Center: An Agenda for the 1990s

Changes in higher education will hold special relevance for university counseling centers in the 1990s. Opportunities will exist for counseling center personnel to help institutions deal with some emerging problems. Research is reviewed that indicates that crisis management services, career development concerns, a changing student population, and issues related to retention all represent areas in which contemporary counseling centers could make significant contributions. Recommendations are made about how counseling centers might prepare themselves for such involvement.