Robert H. Shaffer: The Quintessential “Do-Gooder”

Robert H. Shaffer, a pioneering administrator, faculty member, and professional association leader, was interviewed about the early days of AACD (formerly APGA) and his contributions to the student affairs field.     

The Binomial Expansion: Simplifying the Evaluation Process

Individual, small group, and program effectiveness can be evaluated quickly and painlessly using the binomial expansion. This powerful, but seldom used, nonparametric method is described and specific examples are used to illustrate its simplicity and elegance. An abbreviated table of probabilities is included.     

The subjective experience of intimacy,passion, and commitment in heterosexual loving relationships

Lovers’responses to open-ended questions concerning the experience and communication of intimacy, passion, and commitment were content- and factor-analyzed. These analyses resulted in six ways of experiencing intimacy (openness, sex, affection, supportiveness, togetherness, and quiet company); two ways of experiencing passion (romance and sexual intimacy); and five ways of experiencing commitment (supportiveness, expressions of love, fidelity, expressions of commitment, and consideration and devotion). These results suggest that love, intimacy, passion, and commitment are best conceived as related, overlapping gestalts in the subjective experiences of actual lovers.     

TRAIT, RATER AND LEVEL EFFECTS IN 360-DEGREE PERFORMANCE RATINGS

Method and trait effects in multitrait-multirater (MTMR) data were examined in a sample of 2,350 managers who participated in a developmental feedback program. Managers rated their own performance and were also rated by two subordinates, two peers, and two bosses. The primary purpose of the study was to determine whether method effects are associated with the level of the rater (boss, peer, subordinate, self) or with each individual rater, or both. Previous research which has tacitly assumed that method effects are associated with the level of the rater has included only one rater from each level; consequently, method effects due to the rater's level may have been confounded with those due to the individual rater. Based on confirmatory factor analysis, the present results revealed that of the five models tested, the best fit was the 10-factor model which hypothesized 7 method factors (one for each individual rater) and 3 trait factors. These results suggest that method variance in MTMR data is more strongly associated with individual raters than with the rater's level. Implications for research and practice pertaining to multirater feedback programs are discussed.     

RELATIONS BETWEEN WORK TEAM CHARACTERISTICS AND EFFECTIVENESS: A REPLICATION AND EXTENSION

Previous research has demonstrated that work team characteristics can be related to effectiveness (Campion, Medsker, & Higgs, 1993). This study provides a replication with professional knowledge worker jobs, different measures of effectiveness, and work units that varied in the degree to which members identified as a team. Data were collected from 357 employees, 93 managers, and archival records for 60 teams in a financial services organization. Team characteristics were measured with questionnaires completed by employees and managers. Effectiveness measures included immediate manager judgments at two points in time, senior and peer manager judgments, employee judgments, and archival records of employee satisfaction and performance appraisals. Results were similar to previous findings in that most team characteristics were related to most effectiveness criteria. Relationships were strongest for process characteristics, followed by job design, context, interdependence, and other characteristics. Further, work units higher on single-team identity were higher on many team characteristics and effectiveness measures.     

THE PEN-BASED COMPUTER AS AN ALTERNATIVE PLATFORM FOR TEST ADMINISTRATION

Pen-based computers are similar to paper and pencil (P&P) tests in the method of responding, and thus, may more closely match paper and pencil administration in construct equivalence than keyboard-entry computers. A study was conducted comparing P&P, pen-based note-book computer, and keyboard-entry PC versions of two test batteries. Participants completed tests administered using different administration modes on separate days; construct equivalence was evaluated by comparing Day 1-Day 2 correlations across conditions. Although construct equivalence was found for the power tests, differences emerged for the speeded tests. For the pen-based computer, solid evidence of equivalence to P&P appeared for all but one of the speeded tests, whereas the keyboard PC showed borderline equivalence for only one of the three speeded tests. These findings suggested that the pen-entry computer may be more capable than the keyboard-entry computer in maintaining construct equivalence to P&P tests.     

Creativity and Dream Recall

The literature on creativity and dream recall often found significant positive correlations between measures of creativity and dream recall frequency (DRF). The present study investigated the relation between creative interests and DRF in detail. The findings confirmed the results reported in the literature, according to which persons with visual and verbal creative skills recalled more dreams. It is suggested that the visual memory may serve as a mediator variable in the relation between creativity and DRF.