SELECTING INDIVIDUALS IN TEAM SETTINGS: THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL SKILLS, PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS, AND TEAMWORK KNOWLEDGE

Although work is commonly organized around teams, there is relatively little empirical research on how to select individuals in team-based settings. The goal of this investigation was to examine whether 3 of the most commonly used selection techniques for hiring into traditional settings (a structured interview, a personality test, and a situational judgment test) would be effective for hiring into team settings. In a manufacturing organization with highly interdependent teams, we examined the relationships between social skills, several personality characteristics (Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability), teamwork knowledge, and contextual performance. Results indicate that each of these constructs is bivariately related to contextual performance in a team setting, with social skills, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and teamwork knowledge incrementally predicting contextual performance (with a multiple correlation of .48). Implications of these results for selection in team and traditional settings are discussed.     

Universalizability for Collective Rational Agents: A Critique of Agentrelativism

This paper contends that a Kantian universalizability constraint on theories of practical reason in conjunction with the possibility of collective rational agents entails the surprisingly strong conclusion that no fully agent-relative theory of practical reason can be sound. The basic point is that a Kantian universalizability constraint, the thesis that all reasons for action are agent-relative and the possibility of collective rational agents gives rise to a contradiction. This contradiction can be avoided by either rejecting Kantian universalizability, the possibility of collective rational agents, or the tenability of a fully agent-relative theory of practical reason; we cannot have all three.     

What's NOT Wrong with Foundationalism

One thing all forms of foundationalism have in common is that they hold that a belief can be justified noninferentially –i.e., that its justification need not depend on its being inferred from some other justified (or unjustified) belief. In some recent publications, Peter Klein argues that in virtue of having this feature, all forms of foundationalism are infected with an unacceptable arbitrariness that makes it irrational to be a practicing foundationalist. In this paper, I will explain why his objections to foundationalism fail.     

Attachment avoidance and the cultural fit hypothesis: A cross-cultural investigation

This study examined the impact of attachment avoidance on relationship outcomes. A "cultural fit" hypothesis, which states that individual differences in personality should be associated with relationship problems if they encourage patterns of behavior that are incongruent with cultural norms, was investigated. It was hypothesized that attachment avoidance, a style of relationship in which emotional distance and independence are emphasized, would be more strongly associated with relationship problems in more collectivist societies (Hong Kong and Mexico) than in a more individualist one (the United States), given the greater emphasis placed on closeness and harmony in relationships in collectivist cultures. As predicted, associations between avoidant attachment and relationship problems were stronger in Hong Kong and Mexico than in the United States.     

INCREMENTAL VALIDITY OF PERCEPTUAL SPEED AND ACCURACY OVER GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY

This study extends previous research by examining the incremental validity of a specific aptitude, perceptual speed and accuracy (PS), when it is operationalized as both the number correct (NC) and the number wrong (NW). We test the hypotheses that the NC on the PS test predicts the criterion of task performance and the NW predicts (negatively) rules compliance (RC). Based on the responses of 133 warehouse workers, hierarchical regression analyses supported both hypotheses. After controlling for respondents' demographic characteristics (race, gender, and age) and general mental ability (GMA), the NC on the PS test accounted for incremental validity in prediction of task performance (Δ R = .06, 15% increase), and the NW on the PS test accounted for substantial incremental validity in prediction of (lack of) RC (Δ R = .16, 73% increase). In addition, after controlling for demographic characteristics and both GMA and the specific ability, Conscientiousness accounted for unique validity in prediction of both task performance (Δ R = .07, 15% increase) and RC (Δ R = .06, 16% increase). Practical and theoretical implications for selection practices and models of job performance are discussed.     

AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION OF POSTTRAINING ON-THE-JOB SUPPLEMENTS FOR ENHANCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERPERSONAL SKILLS TRAINING

This study examined the impact of 2 posttraining on-the-job supplements to a training program focused on interpersonal skill development for newly hired managers—self-coaching and upward feedback. Utilizing a sample of 87 trainees from 75 units of a national restaurant chain, the impact of these supplements was assessed by examining posttraining performance across 4 training conditions in a quasi-experimental framework: (1) classroom training only, (2) classroom training with self-coaching, (3) classroom training with upward feedback, and (4) classroom training with self-coaching and upward feedback. The results demonstrated that both supplements are useful extensions to formal classroom training for enhancing trainees' interpersonal performance. These findings are discussed along with directions for future training effectiveness research.