Assessing personality at risk in personnel selection and development

This paper demonstrates the validity and usefulness of a count technique to screen for potential personality dysfunctioning in NEO‐PI‐R ratings obtained in selection and professional development assessments. The usefulness of this screening technique for Industrial, Work and Organizational (IWO) psychologists is demonstrated in five different samples that were administered the NEO‐PI‐R for selection or development purposes. Three additional samples served as normative data to compute FFM PD count cut‐offs that can be used for selection and career development decisions. Evidence for the construct validity of 6 out of 10 FFM PD counts was provided, and all FFM PD compound scales were significantly related to important criteria, including the final selection decision, the results of a behaviourally oriented selection interview and self‐rated work competencies. The practical utility and limitations of this count technique for personnel selection and development are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender concept development of preschool-aged children in the United States and Egypt

Thirty-one American and 31 Egyptian children were given the Slaby-Frey Gender Concept Test to measure gender understanding of children from two cultures assumed to differ in level of androgyny. The subject's sex, age, parent's education, and siblings' sex and age were explored in relation to gender concept. A multivariate analysis of variance (Nationality × Sex of Subject) yielded a significant nationality effect. American children had a higher mean score on gender identity than Egyptian children. In addition, a Pearson product-moment correlation revealed significant positive relationships between the age of the subject and two gender constructs, identity and stability. Future research on specific cognitive, developmental, and cultural influences on the gender development of young children was proposed.     

Distance perception for points at equiconvergence and equidistance loci

Subjects viewed luminescent targets placed at an equidistance (ED) locus or on a comparable equiconvergence locus, the Vieth-Müller circle (VMC). In darkness, subjects moved the index finger to the apparent distance of the visible target. This was repeated at leftward eccentricities of 0 degrees (straight ahead), 15 degrees, 22.5 degrees, 30 degrees, 37.5 degrees, and 45 degrees. Contrary to theoretical expectations, apparent distance to points on the VMC did not describe an equidistance locus, but diminished significantly with increasing eccentricity, whereas ED settings increased slightly but significantly. Binocular and monocular groups performed equivalently. Veridicality of results appears to be the outcome of an accommodation-convergence conflict with a dominant role for accommodation.     

What Experiences Do Expository Books on Recommended Book Lists Offer to K–2 Students?

Teachers can use expository texts to teach academic vocabulary, content knowledge, text structure, and text features. National associations' recommended book lists are often used to identify books for classrooms. Previously we identified expository texts on these lists from 2001–2002 and 2011–2012. The current study explored instructional possibilities these expository books afford. More recent books have more content, academic vocabulary, and supplementary information. However, many earlier and recent books lack text features such as page numbers, tables of contents, glossaries, and indexes. Teachers will need to supplement these books with other texts to provide experiences enabling proficiency with exposition.     

Effects of social exclusion on cognitive processes: anticipated aloneness reduces intelligent thought

Three studies examined the effects of randomly assigned messages of social exclusion. In all 3 studies, significant and large decrements in intelligent thought (including IQ and Graduate Record Examination test performance) were found among people told they were likely to end up alone in life. The decline in cognitive performance was found in complex cognitive tasks such as effortful logic and reasoning; simple information processing remained intact despite the social exclusion. The effects were specific to social exclusion, as participants who received predictions of future nonsocial misfortunes (accidents and injuries) performed well on the cognitive tests. The cognitive impairments appeared to involve reductions in both speed (effort) and accuracy. The effect was not mediated by mood.     

Indirect influence of maternal social contacts on mother-child interactions: A setting event analysis

Fourteen mother-child dyads who had sought psychological help for severe interaction problems took part in a study that investigated the relationship between maternal social interactions with adults outside the family and mother-child interactions in the home. Social interactions outside the family were based on maternal self-reports; mother-child interactions in the home were based on direct observations and included both base-rate and sequential measures. Results indicated that mothers were significantly more aversive toward their children on days in which they had themselves experienced a high proportion of aversive interactions with adults than on days in which they had not. This higher level of aversiveness was evident in their responses to both aversive and nonaversive child behavior and could not be attributed to any corresponding change in child behavior. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.This work appeared first as a paper presented at the 92nd Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, August 1984. The research data reported in this article were generated by support from the National Institute of Mental Health, Crime and Delinquency Section, Grant No. R01-1068-58, to Robert G. Wahler. His permission to use these data is gratefully acknowledged.