WORK SAMPLE TESTS IN PERSONNEL SELECTION: A META‐ANALYSIS OF BLACK–WHITE DIFFERENCES IN OVERALL AND EXERCISE SCORES

Work sample exams are generally thought to have either low or comparatively low levels of ethnic group differences when used for personnel selection. Such exams are sometimes called “simulation exercises” and involve having applicants perform a set of tasks that are similar to those performed on the job. The nearly ubiquitous meta‐analytic value of Black–White subgroup differences in the literature is d= .38. Unfortunately, this estimate is plagued by a variety of problems (e.g., range restriction, inclusion of nonwork sample tests). Further, there are virtually no analyses that examine how the saturation of different constructs influence work sample tests. We gathered available data for Black–White ethnic group differences and found that overall work sample differences were markedly larger for samples of job applicants (d= .73) than previously thought. We also examined how different exercises and saturation of different constructs influenced work sample ds. For example, work sample test ratings of cognitive and job knowledge skills were associated with a mean observed d= .80, whereas ratings of various social skills were associated with mean observed ds that varied from .21 to .27. We urge scientists and practitioners to consider both the method and the constructs that are targeted when forecasting predictor ds.     

The dilution effect: judgmental bias,conversational convention,or a bit of both?

This study explored competing normative interpretations of the dilution effect: the tendency for people to underutilize diagnostic evidence in prediction tasks when that evidence is accompanied by irrelevant information. From the normative vantage point of the intuitive statistician, the dilution effect is a judgmental bias that arises from the representativeness heuristic (similarity-matching of causes and effects). From the normative prospective of the intuitive politician, however, the dilution effect is a rational response to evidence presented in a setting in which Gricean norms of conversation are assumed to hold. The current experiment factorially manipulated conversational norms, the degree to which diagnostic evidence was diluted by irrelevant evidence, and the accountability of subjects for their judgments. Accountable subjects demonstrated a robust dilution effect when conversational norms were explicitly primed as well as in the no-priming control condition, but no dilution when conversational norms were explicitly deactivated. Non-accountable subjects demonstrated the dilution effect across norm activation conditions, with the strongest effect under the activation of conversational norms. Although the results generally support the conversational-norm interpretation of dilution, the significant dilution effect among non-accountable subjects in the norm-deactivated condition is more consistent with the judgmental-bias interpretation.     

THE EVALUATION OF AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO MEASURING ORGANIZATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY

This research describes a new approach to the measurement and enhancement of organizational productivity entitled the Productivity Measurement and Enhancement System (ProMES). Various conceptual issues regarding productivity are briefly reviewed and the system is described. Research is reported in which productivity measures using this approach were developed and evaluated in five organizational units. The measures from the system were then used to give group-level feedback, followed by group goal setting and group incentives. Results indicated that unit personnel were cooperative in developing and using the system and that the system had good psychometric characteristics. Feedback increased productivity 50%, and feedback with the addition of goal setting and incentives increased productivity 75% and 76%, respectively. The approach to measuring productivity has several unique features. For example, it combines all the functions of a unit into a single index of productivity that reflects     

Solutions to Infertility: Even the Simplest Medical Answer Raises Troubling Ethical Questions for Catholics

The purpose of this article is to consider the ethical issues surrounding the “simplest” case of in vitro fertilization from the author's interpretation of a Catholic perspective. (Editor's Note. Any references to Catholicism or Catholic perspective refer to the author's interpretation.)     

INTERACTIVE VIDEO ASSESSMENT OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION SKILLS

In this research we developed and validated an interactive video assessment of conflict resolution skills. A model of conflict management was used to develop the conflict scenarios and part of the scoring key. Computer assessments of conflict resolution skills and two cognitive abilities were administered to 347 supervisors and job performance ratings were collected from their managers. The conflict skills assessment was found to be significantly related to supervisory ratings of on-the-job performance in managing conflict but to be unrelated to the measures of cognitive ability. In addition, the conflict skills assessment had no adverse impact for women. The implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.