SITUATIONAL JUDGMENT TESTS: CONSTRUCTS ASSESSED AND A META-ANALYSIS OF THEIR CRITERION-RELATED VALIDITIES

Situational judgment tests (SJTs) are a measurement method that may be designed to assess a variety of constructs. Nevertheless, many studies fail to report the constructs measured by the situational judgment tests in the extant literature. Consequently, a construct-level focus in the situational judgment test literature is lacking, and researchers and practitioners know little about the specific constructs typically measured. Our objective was to extend the efforts of previous researchers (e.g., McDaniel, Hartman, Whetzel, & Grubb, 2007 ; McDaniel & Ngyuen, 2001 ; Schmitt & Chan, 2006 ) by highlighting the need for a construct focus in situational judgment test research. We identified and classified the construct domains assessed by situational judgment tests in the literature into a content-based typology. We then conducted a meta-analysis to determine the criterion-related validity of each construct domain and to test for moderators. We found that situational judgment tests most often assess leadership and interpersonal skills and those situational judgment tests measuring teamwork skills and leadership have relatively high validities for overall job performance. Although based on a small number of studies, we found evidence that (a) matching the predictor constructs with criterion facets improved criterion-related validity; and (b) video-based situational judgment tests tended to have stronger criterion-related validity than pencil-and-paper situational judgment tests, holding constructs constant. Implications for practice and research are discussed.     

Is the gray mare only a workhorse?

A study by the Women's Commission at the University of Wisconsin pointed out that only 3 percent of the tenured faculty of the college of education were female.“     

DIMENSIONS OF COMPLIANCE-GAINING SITUATIONS

A seven-factor model of situation perception, including “personal benefits,”“intimacy,”“rights,”“resistance,”“dominance,”“situation apprehension,” and “relational consequences” was proposed. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to test the fit of the model to the data. One sample (N=450) was employed to test a six-factor sub model (excluding relational consequences) and a separate sample (N= 270), employing a different situation, was utilized to test the seven-factor model. The proposed model proved to fit the data well (x²/df ratios of 3.14 and 2.97, respectively) and was superior to alternative models. Future research recommendations were provided.     

CODING NATURALISTIC NEGOTIATION INTERACTION

While much recent work has attempted to code negotiation interaction to identify how individuals use communication tactics in negotiation settings, many coding schemes have been developed to analyze simulated activities and may not be appropriate for the analysis of formal, professional negotiation events. Moreover, most coding research has failed to focus on the relationships between individual tactics and larger communication strategies. This article proposes a coding mechanism sensitive to formal, naturally occurring communication in negotiation settings and capable of identifying strategic use of individual tactics. The coding scheme is then applied to simulated and naturalistic negotiation interaction and the resulting data are assessed, using lag sequential analysis. Significant differences are reflected between the naturalistic and simulated interactions and strong patterns of communication strategy are identified.     

The demand/withdraw pattern of communication in parent–adolescent dyads

The current study used both participant reports and outsider ratings of conversations to examine the demand/withdraw pattern in parent–adolescent dyads (N= 57). Results indicated that demands by either parents or adolescents were associated positively with the other dyad member's withdrawal. Overall, parent‐demand/adolescent‐withdraw was more prevalent than adolescent‐demand/parent‐withdraw; however, parent‐demand/adolescent‐withdraw was significantly lower during discussions of adolescents’ issues than during discussions of parents’ issues. There were few differences based on the sex of the parent or the child, but parent‐demand/adolescent‐withdraw during discussion of parents’ issues was higher in dyads with mothers than in dyads with fathers. The discussion focuses on the implications for understanding demand/withdraw communication and on the utility of examining demand/withdraw in parent–adolescent relationships.