Transparency of Assessment Centers: Lower Criterion‐related Validity but Greater Opportunity to Perform?

Assessment centers (ACs) are popular selection devices in which assessees are assessed on several dimensions during different exercises. Surveys indicate that ACs vary with regard to the transparency of the targeted dimensions and that the number of transparent ACs has increased during recent years. Furthermore, research on this design feature has put conceptual arguments forward regarding the effects of transparency on criterion‐related validity, impression management, and fairness perceptions. This study is the first to examine these effects using supervisor‐rated job performance data as the criterion. We conducted simulated ACs with transparency as a between‐subjects factor. The sample consisted of part‐time employed participants who would soon be applying for a new job. In line with our hypothesis, results showed that ratings from an AC with nontransparent dimensions were more criterion valid than ratings from an AC with transparent dimensions. Concerning impression management, our results supported the hypothesis that transparency moderates the relationship between self‐promotion and job performance, such that self‐promotion in the nontransparent AC was more positively related to job performance than self‐promotion in the transparent AC. The data lent no support for the hypothesis that participants’ perceptions of their opportunity to perform are higher in the transparent AC.     

The effect of relational continuity of care in maternity and child health clinics on parenting self‐efficacy of mothers and fathers with loneliness and depressive symptoms

This study explored the parenting self‐efficacy of the parents of 18‐month‐old children in the context of Finnish maternity and child health clinics. This parenting self‐efficacy was observed in relation with the relational continuity of care and parents' experienced loneliness and depressive symptoms. The relational continuity of care was provided by a public health nurse in maternity and child health clinics. The participating parents were drawn from the STEPS study that is being carried out by the Institute for Child and Youth Research at the University of Turku. The results showed that relational continuity of care provided by the same public health nurse in the maternity and child health clinics was associated with mothers' higher emotional loneliness and with lower scores on three dimensions of parents' parenting self‐efficacy. Loneliness and depressive symptoms negatively influenced parents' parenting self‐efficacy – however, in the case where the family had experienced relational continuity of care, the parents' higher levels of depressive symptoms had not weakened their parenting self‐efficacy beliefs. These results are discussed in terms of organizing maternity and child health clinic services.     

Genetic and environmental influences on the association between performance‐based self‐esteem and exhaustion: A study of the self‐worth notion of burnout

In the self‐worth model, burnout is considered to be a syndrome of performance‐based self‐esteem (PBSE) and experiences of exhaustion. Studies have shown that PBSE and burnout indices such as Pines’ Burnout Measure (BM) are associated. Whether these variables have overlapping etiologies has however not been studied before. Genetic and environmental components of covariation between PBSE and exhaustion measured with Pines’ BM were examined in a bivariate Cholesky model using data from 14,875 monozygotic and dizygotic Swedish twins. Fifty‐two per cent of the phenotypic correlation (r = 0.41) between PBSE and Pines’ BM was explained by genetics and 48% by environmental factors. The findings of the present study strengthen the assumption that PBSE should be considered in the burnout process as proposed by the self‐worth conception of burnout. The present results extend our understanding of the link between this contingent self‐esteem construct and exhaustion and provide additional information about the underlying mechanisms in terms of genetics and environment. This finding corroborates the assumed syndrome view on burnout, while it also suggests an altered view of how the syndrome emerges and how it can be alleviated.     

Illness, Disease, and Sin: the Connection between Genetics and Spirituality - A Response.

In responding to Mathias Beck's thought-provoking article, it seems helpful to begin with an outline and comments on Beck's case as I understand it. For me, this overview throws up three problematic areas that I explore further under the headings of 1. examining the New Testament evidence, 2. sin as disobedience, and 3. obedience, grace, and freedom. Clearly, the author's thoughts in all their nuances are not always adequately accessible in translation. Nevertheless, I hope that I have grasped the main thread of his argument. If I am right in my interpretation then Beck still has work to do to clarify and make explicit what is not only barely implicit but what is obscured by his central theme: that obedience to God's will is the mainstay of our relationship to God.     

Psychotherapeutic work at the Maternity and Child Health centers in Stockholm,Sweden

Preventive mental health work has for many years been a cornerstone in child psychiatric work in Sweden. Psykologverksamheten, a program at Psykiska Barn och Ungdomsvarden (PBU), is the out-patient child psychiatry unit in Stockholm County. The aim of the program is to promote infant mental health and to prevent children from becoming future patients at the psychiatric child and adolescent clinics. Located in the residential areas, the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) centers reach almost 100% of infant families and are the platform for the preventive work. The pediatric staff at the MCH centers have been encouraged to apply a psycho-social working model in which not only the pediatric but also the psychological needs of the families are considered. In regular case-consultations child psychologist have offered training and support to the medical staff. This has been bases on the theoretical assumption that if the MCH staff are better equipped in dealing with mental health issues, the support they give to infant families will improve and the referrals to the psychologist at the Psykologverksamheten will decrease. However, through the working alliance established between the MCH staff and the psychologist, the latter has become a professional “secure base,” making the MCH staff more sensitive and observant than earlier. Because the Swedish welfare system is at present undergoing changes due to Government economic restraints, the stress put on families has increased. The referrals to the psychologists have almost doubled. The paper discusses the qualitative development of the relationship between the Psykologverksamheten and the MCH staff, and, with reference to a clinical vignette, discusses the importance of not only supporting general preventive work but also of specifying early dyadic therapeutic interventions. © 1998 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health     

SOCIAL RESEARCH ON SCIENCE AND RELIGION IN NORDIC COUNTRIES

This article presents a review of the literature on science and religion in Nordic countries. Seventy-seven articles, books, and chapters on the topic were collected from five major scholarly databases between 1997 and 2018. We scrutinized how research in this data set was engaged with social scientific research. Most of the research was not social scientific. It was primarily philosophical, theological, and historical research; very little presented empirical and theoretical social scientific research. The studies reflected societal discussions, bringing out some cultural dimensions and social issues, but not specifically in the Nordic context. Some societal aspects were highlighted, such as ethics and climate change, but these were not necessarily tied to the Nordic societies. We propose that in the Nordic context there seems to be a need for social scientific research on science and religion. This research could use theoretical perspectives from, for instance, sociology, science and technology studies, higher education studies, and anthropological research.     

Drawing and handedness of preschoolers: a repeated-measurement approach to hand preference

This study investigated handedness and drawing by preschoolers. An observational method for repeated measurement of hand preference is presented. A sample of 381 children (191 girls, 190 boys) ranging in age from 48 to 71 mo. was tested for drawing and hand preference on 14 tasks. Consistent hand preference was defined as always using a particular hand (left or right) for the same task. Girls with consistent hand preference showed better drawing scores compared to girls with inconsistent hand preference. The results showed the importance of a reliable method for measuring hand preference within a single task as early as preschool age.