COUNSELING THE CULTURALLY DIFFERENT CLIENT: A BLACK-WHITE COLLABORATIVE VIEW

Uncovering the Value Impositions of Social Scientists – A Prelude to Change and Understanding in Counseling and Education.     

PROGRESS IN PSYCHOMETRICS: CAN INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY CATCH UP?

Murphy and DeShon (2000) show that interrater correlations do not provide reasonable estimates of the reliability of job performance ratings, and suggest that better estimates can be obtained by applying the methods of generalizability theory. Schmidt, Viswesvaran, and Ones (2000) criticize our suggestions as radical, and argue that: (a) the reliability of ratings should be evaluated using the parallel test model rather than the more general and more realistic generalizability model, (b) reliability and validity are distinct concepts that should not be confused, and (c) measurement models have little to do with substantive models of the processes that generate scores on a test or measure. All three of these ideas were once part of the psychometric mainstream, but progress in psychometrics over the last 3 decades has moved the field well beyond these assumptions and approaches. Modern psychometric theory calls for close linkages between measurement models and substantive models of the phenomena being measured.     

Can Changes in Differential Dropout Rates Reduce Adverse Impact? A Computer Simulation Study of a Multi‐wave Selection System

A simulation was used to explore the effects of variations in the rate at which applicants drop out of selection processes on racial differences in selection outcomes. Archival data was used to simulate a realistic range of selection scenarios in which test score differences between groups and selection ratios varied. The basis for dropping out was manipulated in two separate studies. Study 1 simulated dropout decisions that occurred at random within racial subgroups; in this study, dropout rates of minority versus White candidates were varied. Study 2 examined dropout decisions that occurred as a function of test scores. Results from both studies showed that mean test score differences between White and minority applicants have the largest influence on adverse impact. Interventions designed to reduce the tendency of minority applicants to withdraw from selection are likely to have, at best, small effects on the adverse impact of selection tests.     

Age‐related Changes in Creative Thinking

Age‐related differences in cognitive processes were used to understand age‐related declines in creativity. According to the Geneplore model (Finke, Ward, & Smith, 1992), there are two phases of creativity — generating an idea and exploring the implications of the idea — each with different underlying cognitive processes. These two phases are measured in the Creative Invention Task (CIT; Finke, 1990). Younger adults (n = 41) and older adults (n = 41) completed the CIT, the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), and a measure of working memory capacity (Paper Folding test). In addition, the CIT was scored by both younger and older adults. There were age‐related declines on both phases of the CIT, but not on the TTCT. These declines were noted by both the younger and older raters. After adjusting for working memory capacity, however, age‐related differences on the CIT were nonsignificant.