The Relation between Selection Expectations,Perceptions and Organizational Attraction: A test of competing models

Little is known about how applicants' selection expectations and perceptions interplay in predicting applicant attraction outcomes (organizational attractiveness, job pursuit intention, and recommendation intention). In the present study, 340 entry‐level applicants for jobs in a large financial company provided information about their selection expectations before the procedure, and about their perceptions and attraction to the organization after the procedure. Regression analyses indicated that applicant perceptions, and in particular perceptions of warmth/respect, mediated the relationship between selection expectations and organizational attractiveness and job pursuit intention. No support was found for the moderating role of selection expectations in the perception–attraction relationship. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Ingratiation and Self‐Promotion in the Selection Interview: The Effects of Using Single Tactics or a Combination of Tactics on Interviewer Judgments

This paper investigates the relative effectiveness of the use of 2 impression‐management tactics—ingratiation and self‐promotion—on interviewers' evaluations of an applicant in a laboratory setting. It was suggested that the use of a single tactic would be better than the use of no tactic; that the use of self‐promotion would be more successful than the use of ingratiation; and, finally, that the use of a combination of tactics would lead to the best evaluations. Results were largely in line with our hypotheses. Interviewer ratings and action recommendations were more positive in the combination condition, followed by the self‐promotion condition, the ingratiation condition, and the neutral condition. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

What the eyes already ‘know’: using eye movement measurement to tap into children's implicit numerical magnitude representations

To date, a number of studies have demonstrated the existence of mismatches between children's implicit and explicit knowledge at certain points in development that become manifest by their gestures and gaze orientation in different problem solving contexts. Stimulated by this research, we used eye movement measurement to investigate the development of basic knowledge about numerical magnitude in primary school children. Sixty‐six children from grades one to three (i.e. 6–9 years) were presented with two parallel versions of a number line estimation task of which one was restricted to behavioural measures, whereas the other included the recording of eye movement data. The results of the eye movement experiment indicate a quantitative increase as well as a qualitative change in children's implicit knowledge about numerical magnitudes in this age group that precedes the overt, that is, behavioural, demonstration of explicit numerical knowledge. The finding that children's eye movements reveal substantially more about the presence of implicit precursors of later explicit knowledge in the numerical domain than classical approaches suggests further exploration of eye movement measurement as a potential early assessment tool of individual achievement levels in numerical processing. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Need for a Code of Conduct for Research Funders

Science and Engineering Ethics - In addition to a code of conduct for researchers, it is desirable to implement a code of conduct for funders of research. This is because researchers often behave...     

Multimedia learning trumps retrieval practice in psychology teaching

It is well established that studying with (vs. without) visual illustrations as well as taking tests (vs. restudying) is beneficial for learning, but on which strategy should one put the efforts, or should they be combined for best learning? Eighty‐eight upper secondary school students were given a brief lecture presented verbally (6 classes) or with the aid of a visual illustration (visuoverbal, 6 classes). The information was processed again by taking a memory test or by restudying. Recall and transfer tests were conducted after some few minutes and again after one week. The visuoverbal lecture resulted in better learning than verbal presentation only. A significant study strategy by retention interval interaction was found. However, this interaction was not qualified by a testing effect. Hence, taking tests (retrieval practice) did not lead to better learning than restudying. It was concluded that it is worthwhile to use visual illustrations in teaching. However, the present study did not reveal any synergistic effects from the combination of visuoverbal presentation and retrieval practice.     

Redeeming Apartheid's Legacy: Collective Guilt, Political Ideology, and Compensation

This paper reports two studies among white South African students on feelings of collective guilt about apartheid and attitudes to affirmative action. Study 1 reports on 21 in-depth interviews, Study 2 on results from 180 survey questionnaires. Substantial proportions of the participants in both studies displayed feelings of collective guilt. Among participants in both studies who identified strongly with white South Africans, some displayed strong feelings of collective guilt while others displayed no such feelings. Our survey data suggest that political ideology functions as a moderator. Strong feelings of guilt were found among students who identified strongly with white South Africans and defined themselves as liberals. If they defined themselves as conservatives then no feelings of collective guilt were observed. Strong feelings of collective guilt were accompanied by positive attitudes toward affirmative action. The influence of political ideology on attitudes toward affirmative action was mediated by collective guilt.     

Nihilism: Beyond Optimism and Pessimism

Studies in Philosophy and Education - Is the youth culture, or more precisely aparticular kind of it, to be characterized as “nihilistic”? And is this a threat or ablessing for...     

Personality Changes in the Old–Old: A Longitudinal Study

Although many studies have examined the issue of personality stability in early and middle adulthood, few have explored the limits of personality stability in the very old, who are often confronted with major changes in their health and life circumstances which can severely impact adaptive behavior. We conducted a longitudinal study of 74 elderly women with a mean age of 80. They were assessed on the personality traits of Neuroticism, Extroversion, and Openness. Although multiple regression analyses revealed moderate stability on all 3 traits, their stability was found to be influenced by negative changes in life circumstances. For example, decreased social support and increased unmet needs were associated with more Neuroticism. Less Extroversion was associated with poorer health and greater psychosocial needs. The trait of Openness was very stable and was the least affected by life events. These contradictory findings are reconciled by considering personality development within an interaction framework.     

Regret for What not Has Been. Education, and from now You're on Your Own

When children gradually leave theirparental home and the educational task of theirparents is nearly finished, the relationshipbetween them changes. The nature of the closerelationship comes under pressure, and thequestion is whether what is awaited for willnot be hollow. To think about the character andorigin of this emptiness, leads to a reflectionof the essence of the educational relationshipitself. This article discusses the way in which``leaving home'' puts the relationship betweenand the identities of parent and child atstake. It furthermore describes the kind ofregret both partners experience, and arguesthat education is incomprehensible in the end.Coming to understand this has an important andpositive other side: it demands our attentionfor the unforeseen and explains through thisperhaps also partly its attractiveness.     

Mental activation of supportive ties, hostility, and cardiovascular reactivity to laboratory stress in young men and women.

In addition to actual social interactions, internal representations of supportive ties could affect mechanisms linking relationships and health. Undergraduates (41 men, 41 women) wrote about supportive ties or casual acquaintances. Supportive ties were rated as warmer and less controlling than acquaintances, and writing about them evoked reductions in negative affect, especially for low-hostile participants. Compared with the acquaintance condition, the supportive tie condition resulted in reduced heart rate and blood pressure response during a subsequent speech stressor. Among women, the supportive tie condition reduced blood pressure response among low- but not among high-hostile participants. Hence, mental activation of supportive ties altered effects of laboratory stress and might be relevant to the effects of social relations on health.