Assessment Center Graduate Selection: Decision Processes,Validity, and Evaluation by Candidates

In this contribution, results are presented of research on the predictive validity of a procedure for the career-oriented selection of graduates in The Netherlands. After selection on account of applicant letter, the selection procedure consists of four selective steps: interview with a ‘recruitment officer’, mental test, interview with line manager, and an assessment center comprising two situational exercises. Performance indicators investigated are present salary, average annual changes in function, appraisal of performance, appraisal of management potential, and average annual salary progression. We report on the relationships between the predictors, between the criteria, and between predictors and criteria. The assessment center, together with other steps from the selection procedure, appear to be valid for a number of performance indicators. The correlation between the overall assessment center rating and present salary, corrected for restriction in range, equals 0.55. Stepwise regression indicates that elements from all procedure steps contribute to the prediction of the criterion of average annual salary progression. The disturbing influence of possible ‘crown prince’ -effects on these results, are discussed. Also, the decision process taking place during the end meeting of the assessors is investigated. Finally, the evaluation of the procedure, both by accepted and by rejected candidates, is discussed. These and other results are compared to what is generally known about assessment centers.     

On the factor score controversy

A summary and interpretation of the recent literature on the indeterminacy of factor scores is given in simple terms. A good index of factor score determinacy is the squared multiple correlation of the factor with the observed variables.     

Models,computers and policies: Fifty years of Psychometrika

Mathematical models have been represented inPsychometrika first in biophysics, then in stochastic models of behavior, and later in computer simulations of behavior. Other specialized journals now attract many articles in these areas, butPsychometrika's policy of broad interest in all aspects of quantitative psychology remains sound. This paper reviewsPsychometrika's coverage of mathematical models and computation, and discusses some matters of editorial policy.     

Why your "head is in the clouds" during thinking: the relationship between cognition and upper space

Higher-order cognition in humans has not generally been viewed as closely entwined with the brain mechanisms mediating more basic perceptual-motor interactions in 3-D space. However, recent findings suggest that perceptual and oculomotor mechanisms that are biased toward the upper field (which disproportionately represents radially distant space) are activated during complex mental operations, ranging from semantic processing to mental arithmetic and memory search. The particularly close affinity with upward conjugate eye deviations--further confirmed in a study of 24 schoolchildren who responded to various mental questions and demands--suggests that active, abstract thinking in humans may have expropriated the focal-extrapersonal brain systems involved in saccadic exploration of the distant environment in other primates.     

How to trigger elaborate processing? A comment on Kunde, Kiesel, and Hoffmann (2003)

Recently, [Kunde, W., Kiesel, A., & Hoffmann, J. (2003). Conscious control over the content of unconscious cognition. Cognition, 88, 223-242] used a masked priming paradigm to argue that neither the 'elaborate processing' or the 'evolving automaticity' view can account for the processing of unconscious numerical stimuli. In our Experiment 1 we replicated [Kunde, W., Kiesel, A., & Hoffmann, J. (2003). Conscious control over the content of unconscious cognition. Cognition, 88, 223-242] Experiment 4 and show that with a less demanding mask than that used by Kunde et al., 'elaborate processing' can explain priming results given that there are side conditions to trigger elaborate processing of unconscious stimuli. The second experiment further explores this influence of the masks by increasing the relevance of the symbols by which the mask is composed. The results show that an increase in relevance of the mask is accompanied by a decrease in the priming effect, though there was no significant change in conscious awareness of the prime.     

Neural substrates for verbal working memory in deaf signers: fMRI study and lesion case report

The nature of the representations maintained in verbal working memory is a topic of debate. Some authors argue for a modality-dependent code, tied to particular sensory or motor systems. Others argue for a modality-neutral code. Sign language affords a unique perspective because it factors out the effects of modality. In an fMRI experiment, deaf participants viewed and covertly rehearsed strings of non-sense signs; analyses focused on regions responsive in both sensory and rehearsal phases. Compared with previous findings in hearing subjects, deaf subjects showed a significantly increased involvement of parietal regions. A lesion case study indicates that this network is left-dominant. The findings support the hypothesis that linguistic working memory is supported by modality-specific neural systems, but some modality-neutral systems may also be involved.     

Transient overexpression of the 5-HT1A receptor impairs water-maze but not hole-board performance

Previously, we showed that mice that overexpress the 5-HT(1A) receptor transiently from embryonic to perinatal stages show reduced anxiety and changes in brain serotonin turnover as adults. Here, we investigated the long-term effects of the temporary overexpression of the 5-HT(1A) receptor during early embryonic and perinatal development on the performance in two memory tasks. In the hole-board test mice that were homozygous for the transgene showed similar behavioral habituation but increased locomotion compared to heterozygous mice. In contrast water-maze performance of homozygous mice was impaired compared to heterozygous mice. These results suggest that a transient overexpression of 5-HT(1A) receptor during embryonic and perinatal development has detrimental effects on water-maze performance at adult stages.     

Best linear composites with a specified structure

Least squares linear composites of predictors for estimating several criteria are derived, satisfying the restriction that the composites have an arbitrary specified intercorrelation matrix. These composites are compared with the usual unrestricted regression composites. An illustrative example is provided. The derivation depends on a general result, given in an appendix, about best-fitting orthonormal transformations.This research was done while the author was a Fellow at The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. The investigation was supported by a Public Health Service fellowship, 1 F3 MH-28, 495-01 (PS), from the National Institute of Mental Health. Preparation of the paper was supported in part by Grant MH 07722 from the National Institute of Mental Health, Public Health Service, for work done at Carnegie-Mellon University.     

The computer revolution in psychometrics

Summary We have said that psychometric methods involving algorithms are completely objective—at least they are if the algorithm is in the form of a program for a digital computer. These objective procedures need Monte Carlo and other computer runs to determine their properties, but so do many equation-oriented techniques. The objective algorithms are flexible but not flaccid. They offer a way of dealing with complexities that formerly seemed beyond our grasp. As the computer revolution continues in psychometrics, we can expect objective algorithmic methods to become the rule rather than the exception.Presidential address delivered at the annual meeting of the Psychometric Society, New York, New York, September 3, 1966.This paper was prepared while the author was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. The investigation was supported by a Public Health Service fellowship, 1 F3, MH-28, 495-01 (PS), from the National Institute of Mental Health.