A Statistical Correction to 20 years of Banding

Statistically based banding is often considered a viable method for minimizing adverse impact in test‐based employment decisions. By utilizing the standard error of the difference (SED), scores are equated based on the assumption that there is substantial unreliability in any single observed score. However, based on the derivations of Dudek, the formula commonly used to calculate the standard error of measurement (SEM) – a component that is typically used to calculate the SED – is incorrect. Specifically, utilizing the SEM when calculating the SED produces a band of observed scores around a true score, not a band of true scores around an observed score as would be appropriate for banding. This study compares the differences between banding‐based selection decisions when the appropriate SED formula – which utilizes the standard error of estimate – is and is not applied. Overall, results suggest that utilizing the appropriate formula for calculating the SED produces substantial variations in employment decisions. The potential legal and ethical implications of these discrepancies are discussed.     

Measurement of Transformational Leadership and its Relationship with Team Cohesion and Performance Level

Motivational climate research has focused more empirical attention on coach-initiated motivational climate than on the parent-initiated climate. In this study of 238 competitive swimmers (ages 9–14 years), we compared the strength of relations between athletes’ late-season perceptions of coach and parent-initiated climates and their self-esteem, performance anxiety, and intrinsic–extrinsic motivation. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that parent-initiated motivational climate was a significant predictor of late-season self-esteem, trait anxiety, and autonomous regulation over and above coach-initiated motivational climate. We discuss when and why the parent-initiated climate is likely to be more influential and imply that more empirical attention to parents is warranted.     

Individual Differences in Personality Conducive to Engagement in Aggression and Violence

This paper examined empirically the value of a conceptual model in which emotional stability and agreeableness contribute to engagement in aggression and violence (EAV) indirectly through irritability, hostile rumination and moral disengagement. Three hundred and forty young adults (130 male and 190 female) participated in the study. The average age of participants was 21 at time 1 and 25 at time 2. Findings attested to the role of basic traits (i.e. agreeableness and emotional stability) and specific personality dispositions (i.e. irritability and hostile rumination) in predisposing to EAV and to the pivotal role of moral disengagement in giving access to aggressive and violent conduct. In particular, the mediational model attested to the pivotal role of emotional stability and agreeableness in contributing directly to both hostile rumination and irritability and indirectly to moral disengagement, and to EAV. Agreeableness and hostile rumination contribute to moral disengagement that plays a key role in mediating the relations of all examined variables with EAV. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Relationship Between Violent Fantasy and Alcohol Misuse in Aggressive Behaviours

Alcohol misuse and cognitions supportive of violent behaviour have been linked with higher likelihood of engaging in aggressive actions. The present study investigated the interactive effects of alcohol abuse and violent fantasy on aggressive behaviour. A community sample of 279 adults recruited from South East Queensland completed the Aggression Questionnaire, Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, Scheduled of Imagined Violence, and the Marlowe‐Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Controlling for age, gender, and social desirability response, participants who acknowledged fantasies about violence and higher levels of alcohol consumption reported higher levels of aggression. Importantly, the interactive effects of alcohol and fantasy indicated that the contribution of violent fantasies was greatest among individuals with high levels of alcohol use compared with individuals with low alcohol use. The current findings, in conjunction with recent experimental evidence, highlight potential concerns regarding the additive effects of alcohol and violent fantasy.     

How you lie affects what you remember

We investigated how telling different types of lies may impact memory. Participants studied pictures of objects, and later lied and told the truth about these and new objects once or multiple times by describing them or by denying they had seen them. Forty-eight hours later, participants were tested on their source memory. Results revealed that participants had good memory for having falsely described a never-seen object, but relatively poor memory for having falsely denied seeing a studied object. These results suggest that telling certain types of lies may make a person more likely to forget having lied. In addition, repeated truthful denials of having seen a picture paradoxically increased false memories for having seen it. Thus, telling the truth does not always prevent the possibility of memory distortion.     

The Concept of Identification in Threat Assessment

Identification is one of eight warning behaviors—superordinate patterns of accelerating risk—that are theorized to correlate with targeted violence, and have some empirical validation. It is characterized by one or more of five characteristics: pseudo-commando behavior, evidence of a warrior mentality, a close association with weapons or other military or law enforcement paraphernalia, wanting to imitate and often surmount previous attackers or assassins, or believing oneself to be an agent to advance a particular cause or belief system. The authors briefly explore the history of the psychology of identification, its current usage, and its application to threat assessment. Four cases are used to illustrate identification as both a process and a product, and a likely motive for targeted violence in some subjects. Its operational relevance for threat assessment is suggested. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How self-transcendence via individualised moral foundations predict emotional and social enhancement

In this article we focus on explaining personality trait self-transcendence (ST) in relation to social and emotional competence, and suggest that ST through differences in moral foundations can partially predict social and emotional competence. A sample of 195 university students was used to test hypotheses regarding several paths between ST, trait emotional intelligence (EI), universalism and moral foundations. Consistent with the hypotheses, ST was found to predict social and emotional competence via individualised moral foundations (IMF). Results have implications for our understanding of the relationship between ST, moral foundations, social and emotional competence.     

Towards a Social-Structural Model for Understanding Current Disparities in Maori Health and Well-Being

Colonization has resulted in Maori occupying a vulnerable position in New Zealand society. Comparatively poor health, along with complex social and economic problems, is a reflection of this fundamental insecurity. This article aims to put forward a historical and developmental perspective for understanding some of the current health disparities experienced by Maori, by exploring the concepts of historical trauma, loss of land, and alternative theories of development from post-development theory.