Implementation Planning as a Pathway Between Goal Motivation and Goal Progress for Academic and Physical Activity Goals1

The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the role of self‐concordance and implementation planning on the progress made by university students in the pursuit of their academic and physical activity goals over a 1‐month period. A sample of 205 students completed measures of self‐concordance at Time 1, and implementation planning and goal progress at Time 2. Results of structural equation modeling analyses indicated that implementation planning partially mediated the relationship between self‐concordance and academic goal progress, and fully mediated this relationship for goals related to physical activity. The results attest to the importance of selecting goals that are congruent with the self and the use of planning strategies for the facilitation of goal progress in 2 life domains.     

WINNICOTT AND HELPLESSNESS: DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY,RELIGION, AND PERSONAL LIFE

The author examines Winnicott's theory of development from the perspective of existential helplessness, arguing that (a) his views illuminate healthy (and unhealthy) aspects of religion, and (b) express his stance toward the helplessness of dying and death. The author contends that Winnicott understood the infant's psychic growth in relation to the reality of existential helplessness and absolute dependency. Four interrelated, dynamic paradoxes embedded in Winnicott's developmental perspective are discussed, and these paradoxes are seen as frameworks to depict his notions of ego, transitional objects, and true/false selves. The author posits that religion, which Winnicott included under the rubric of transitional phenomena, can be understood in relation to existential helplessness and can be assessed in terms of the degree to which these paradoxes are dynamic.     

The Transmission of Values and the Transition into Adulthood Within the Context of Home Education

The current study explored the transmission of values and beliefs and the transition into adulthood within the context of home education through semi-structured open-ended interviews with four formerly home-educated young adults. The interviewees described their relationship with their parents as strong both now and while homeschooling but the younger two participants did not show clear signs that they closely maintained their parents' religious beliefs. All participants indicated that their transition to adulthood contained some transitional bumps but the difficulty of these bumps was mitigated by a strong parent-child relationship. The youngest participant seemed to be in the midst of a transitional strain.     

A META-ANALTTIC REVIEW OF ATTITUDINAL AND DISPOSITIONAL PREDICTORS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR

A quantitative review of 55 studies supports the conclusion that job attitudes are robust predictors of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The relationship between job satisfaction and OCB is stronger than that between satisfaction and in-role performance, at least among nonmanagerial and nonprofessional groups. Other attitudinal measures (perceived fairness, organizational commitment, leader supportiveness) correlate with OCB at roughly the same level as satisfaction. Dispositional measures do not correlate nearly as well with OCB (with the exception of conscientiousness). The most notable moderator of these correlations appears to be the use of self- versus other-rating of OCB; self-ratings are associated with higher correlations, suggesting spurious inflation due to common method variance, and much greater variance in correlation. Differences in subject groups and work settings do not account for much variance in the relationships. Implications are noted for theory, practice, and strategies for future research on OCB.     

AN INTERNATIONAL LOOK AT SELECTION PRACTICES: NATION AND CULTURE AS EXPLANATIONS FOR VARIABILITY IN PRACTICE

A survey of 959 organizations in 20 countries was undertaken to assess whether differences in staffing practices are due in part to nation and culture. Cultural differences in uncertainty avoidance and, to a lesser extent, power distance, explained some of the national differences observed in the extensiveness of method use. Implications for understanding the best approaches to selection on a global basis are discussed.     

DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIPLE JOB PERFORMANCE MEASURES IN A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF JOBS

The goal of criterion development in Project A was to construct multiple measures of the major components of job performance such that the total performance domain for a representative sample of the population of entry-level enlisted positions in the U.S. Army was covered. These measures were to be used as criteria against which to validate both experimental and existing predictors of job performance. The initial model specified that performance is multidimensional within two major categories of dimensions designated as organization-wide and job specific. The development strategy involved describing the total domain of job content via extensive task analyses and critical incident analyses, generating the critical performance dimensions that constitute it, constructing measures for each dimension, and evaluating each measure using expert judgment and field test data. The specific measures developed consisted of rating scales, tests of job knowledge, hands-on job samples, and archival records. The major steps in the job analyses, content sampling, instrument construction, and instrument evaluation are described, and the final array of criterion measures is presented.     

TEST PREPARATION PROGRAMS IN SELECTION CONTEXTS: SELF-SELECTION AND PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS

Research examining coaching effects on test performance and other outcomes in selection settings has been limited despite an increase in test orientation programs. This study examined factors potentially related to self-selection into a test preparation program, the outcomes of such a program, and the differential effectiveness of the program. Attendees were more likely to be female, African American, and low in Stress Tolerance. After considering potential differences due to self-selection, attendance was unrelated to ability test performance, anxiety, or motivation levels. No evidence of the differential effectiveness of the program based on characteristics of attendees was found. Implications for research and practice related to test preparation programs in selection contexts are discussed.     

College Students: Learning Disabilities and Services

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 provides an impetus for the development of special services for learning-disabled college students. The article describes the problems of three such students and the services they needed to improve their chances for academic success. The authors provide suggestions for working with the learning-disabled college population.     

HYPOTHESIZING DIFFERENTIAL ITEM FUNCTIONING IN GLOBAL EMPLOYEE OPINION SURVEYS

Cross-cultural researchers have not used cultural dimensions to predict when differential item functioning (DIF) in attitude survey items is likely to occur. Predictive hypotheses for items related to supervision on a global corporate survey were developed based on 3 of Hofstede's (1991a) dimensions. In some cases, greater DIF was found on hypothesized items between countries differing on cultural dimensions. Implications for the use of this framework and DIF in examining multinational employee opinion surveys are discussed.