Preemployment screening procedures: How human resource managers perceive them

A survey of Human Resource practitioners' perceptions of pre-employment screening procedures was conducted. The results indicated differences between tests in terms of perceived accuracy and offensiveness, as well as other attributes. Regression analyses suggested that beliefs about validity, the number of other companies using these procedures, perceived offensiveness of the test, and ease in passing the test were important factors in the willingness to use a particular test. Conversely, perceptions regarding the discriminatory impact of the test and the cost of using the test generally were not related to willingness to use the test. Limitations of this study, which was primarily exploratory, are noted.     

VSearch: Macintosh software for experiments in visual search

In this paper, we describe software that turns a Macintosh computer into an off-the-shelf tool for experiments on visual search. Our design goals included portability (between members of the Macintosh computer family and between various research settings), user-friendliness (equivalent to Macintosh programming standards), flexibility (to allow replication and extension of important experiments on visual search), and adaptability (very short design-to-data and data-to-analysis turnaround times). We describe how the software meets these goals in three major phases of an experiment: stimulus construction, experimental control, and statistical analysis. We then list several landmark studies of visual search that can be easily designed and extended with the software. Finally, we outline plans for expanding the experimental variations that will be supported in future versions of the software.     

Tachistoscopic exposure of real objects for measurement of reaction time and movement time

In this paper, we describe an apparatus for measuring reaction times and movement times involved in reaching for real objects. Subjects view an object through a liquid crystal window, which serves as a shutter that can be made clear or opaque quickly (10 msec from opaque to clear, 30 msec from clear to opaque). The subject’s hand rests on a microswitch-equipped home key, and the object sits on a force-sensitive platform so that initiation of reach and time of contact with the object can be marked accurately. The apparatus interfaces with an IBM PC/AT through a digital I/O parallel port, so that reaction times and movement times are recorded automatically.     

Depression in patients with spinal cord injuries: A synthesis of cognitive and somatic processes

Depression in some patients with spinal cord injuries may be clinically significant and, when present, should be treated to decrease morbidity including decreased physical functioning. Depression associated with spinal cord injury (SCI) may be misevaluated, due to (1) nonspecific multifactorial production of depression symptoms and (2) SCI-specific decrease in somatic sensory central nervous system input. The Somatic Suppression Hypothesis suggests that SCI patients have difficulty experiencing any intense emotion because of suppression of physiological arousal. In addition, cognitive processes that may reduce depression in SCI patients include: (1) attribution of somatic symptoms of depression to medical (biological) causes, (2) realistic, positive expectations for physical improvement, and (3) the perception that the disability of the SCI is only minimally related to the patient’s self-care after complete evaluation. Health personnel should accept lack of depression in SCI, and should encourage positive realistic expectations of recovery.     

Racial Identity Development Among Gifted Black Students: Counseling Issues and Concerns

A review of the literature suggests that a paucity of information exists regarding how culture-specific issues such as being both Black and gifted influence the psychological needs and personality development of gifted Black students. Stellar attempts, however, are currently underway to develop theories and perspectives of racial identity development among Black students. These theories and perspectives are discussed in an attempt to understand and address the psychological and social needs of gifted Black students.     

Who Uses the Cost-Benefit Rules of Choice? Implications for the Normative Status of Microeconomic Theory

We find three factors to be associated with use of cost-benefit rules in everyday decisions. These are effectiveness in achieving desirable life outcomes, intelligence, and training in economics. We argue that these empirical findings support the claim that cost-benefit reasoning is normative.     

Employment and Roles of Counselors in Employee Assistance Programs

The authors studied employment and roles of master's-level counselors in employee assistance programs (EAPs) and the services offered by different types of EAP organizations. The study focused on programs, workshops and seminars: assessment; counseling; consultation; and evaluation and marketing services offered by EAPs. Master's-level counselors were found to be similar to those with Master's of Social Work (MSW) degrees in employment rate and percentage of EAP staff. Both groups were the most frequently employed and constitute the greatest percentage of the professional mental health staff in EAPs. Also, counselors were found to be involved in all of the service areas studied within each type of EAP. Differences in counselors' roles among EAP types are discussed.     

The concurrent validity of three self-report measures of borderline personality

The recent accumulation of self-report measures of borderline personality disorder (BPD) affords the opportunity to evaluate both the construct validity of the concept and the quality of these measures. This study examines the relationship among three recently developed self-report instruments for assessing BPD from the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991), the MMPI Personality Disorders Scales (MPD; Morey, Waugh, & Blashfield, 1985), and the Bell Object Relations Inventory (BORI: Bell, Billington, & Becker, 1986). Data on the three measures were provided by 119 undergraduate subjects from a southeastern university. A correlational analysis addresses the convergence of these measures of BPD, their divergence from measures of different but related traits, and their independence from variance due to method. Application of the Campbell-Fiske (1959) criteria indicates adequate convergence for all the BPD measures but a lack of discriminant validity for the BORI scales. The fit of the data to a structural model of construct validity is tested using confirmatory factor analysis, and these results are consistent with the hypothesis of a latent borderline trait factor independent of measurement method factors. In sum, the construct validity of the borderline personality concept using self-report methodologies receives support, and a strong association between borderline personality and paranoid phenomena is also suggested.