FURTHER STUDIES OF SITUATIONAL TESTS

In the present paper, results are reported for two different situational judgment tests (SJT) used in validation studies with almost 4,000 employees in 7 different organizations. Across the 2 studies, it was shown that situational test scores were significantly related to performance (weighted average r = .19), cognitive ability (weighted average r = .45), and experience (weighted average r = .20). In one study, there was a slight tendency for experience and cognitive ability to interact in the prediction of situational judgment, such that cognitive ability became less predictive as experience increased. Situational judgment fully mediated the effects of cognitive ability in one study, but not in the other. Finally, SJT race effect sizes were consistent with past research and, while not trivial, smaller than those typically observed for cognitive ability tests. The studies yielded very similar results despite the use of different keying methods (empirical vs. subject matter expert opinion). The preponderance of the evidence indicates that situational judgment measures mediate avariety of job relevant skills. Limitations to these studies and directions for future research are reviewed.     

COMBINING BIODATA TEST AND INTERVIEW INFORMATION: PREDICTING DECISIONS AND PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

An important question in real world selection situations is: How do interviewers integrate employment test scores and interview information in making selection decisions? The present study expands on previous research by examining how valid biodata test scores and interview information interact in the prediction of actual interviewer selection decisions and actual job performance criteria for hired candidates. The sample for the study was 577 actual candidates for the position of life insurance sales agent evaluated by insurance agency managers from a single company. The results indicated the presence of interaction effects in predicting both the interviewers' decision and 12-month survival. The interview information predicted the decision and survival best for candidates with low passing scores on the biodata test and poorest for candidates with high passing scores. The results clarify the conditions under which interview information is most predictive of job performance criteria.     

PERCEPTIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCE: A COGNITIVE INFORMATION PROCESSING APPROACH FOR EXPLAINING MODERATED RELATIONSHIPS

A hypothesis of consistency in cognitive information processing of perceptions of psychological influence (perceived influence of decisions made by a supervisor) was proposed and tested. The hypothesis stated that if (a) having influence was of sufficient importance to a subordinate to effect selective attention to supervisor behaviors that reflected opportunities for influence, then (b) the subordinate would employ perceptions of influence in behavioral decisions (performance) and affective reactions (anxiety, satisfaction). The hypothesis received support in a study of 363 Navy enlisted aircraft maintenance personnel, where selective attentiveness to opportunities for influence was determined by assessing the fit between personal characteristics of a subordinate (e.g., achievement motivation) and the degree of overload in the work environment. Results suggested that relations between perceptions of influence and attitudes/performance should be expected only for those individuals who are attentive to opportunities for influence in the early stages of cognitive processing. Implications of these results for future scientific and professional endeavors are discussed.     

BLACK-WHITE DIFFERENCES IN WORK ENVIRONMENT PERCEPTIONS AND JOB SATISFACTION AND ITS CORRELATES

Numerous studies have reported racial differences in intelligence, abilities, motivation, job satisfaction, and so forth. Relatively few of these studies, however, limited their comparisons to blacks and whites experiencing similar work conditions. The present effort compared black ( n = 166) and white ( n = 1,451) sailors assigned to the same shipboard divisions in order to investigate possible differences in perceived work conditions, satisfaction, need strength, and relationships among these variables. Also explored were two hypothesized sources of race-related satisfaction differences–differences in perceived work conditions and differences in need strength. The results tended to support the need strength hypothesis although satisfaction differences were fewer than expected.     

METHODOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOMETRIC ISSUES IN SETTING CUTOFF SCORES USING THE ANGOFF METHOD

The present study examined several psychometric issues relevant to the use of a favored technique (the Angoff method) used to set standards in criterion referenced testing. The research was conducted within a setting which allowed (a) confident identification of expert and non-expert judges, and (b) estimation of "true" scores for items judged so that accuracy of judgments in addition to reliability could be examined. Results suggested that expertise of judges does make a difference in producing more accurate and reliable data, underscoring the importance of using true subject matter experts (SMEs) in the judgment process. A rater analysis technique (rater-total correlations) was illustrated, which might prove useful in improving the quality of data obtained using the Angoff method, particularly when there is some question regarding the internal consistency of ratings and expertise of some of the raters. Finally, a rater accuracy adjustment/calibration technique was examined and proved to be a potentially useful method to maximize accuracy of a standard derived using the Angoff method in settings where archival normative test data can be obtained. Other methods that could potentially be used to improve Angoff data were discussed.     

Memory for Orientation in the Natural Environment

Previous work has demonstrated that memory for information to which people have been exposed for a prolonged period in everyday life may be very poor. One interpretation of such findings is that we tend to remember only information that is likely to be of future functional relevance. However, it is also noticeable that previous investigations have in general studied memory concerning artefacts of arbitrary design rather than the natural environment. As the product of an evolutionary process, it is possible that memory is in general adapted towards dealing with the natural rather than the artificial. For example, in the case of one frequently encountered artefact it has been shown that people retain little information as to whether the head on a coin faces to left or right. The present study probed a naturally occurring counterpart to this, by examining recall of the orientation of the crescent moon. For a new moon it is the right-hand side of the moon that is illuminated whereas for an old moon it is the left-hand side, in the northern hemisphere. The results of Experiment 1 indicated no retention of this information by participants (though, as the results of Experiment 4 confirmed, participants did remember that the new and old moons have opposite orientations). The results of Experiments 2 and 3 confirmed the absence of retention when recall was cued by reference to the solar cycle rather than the lunar cycle, either singly or in combination. It is concluded that, contrary to expectation, memory for the natural environment is in this case no better than memory for the artificial environment, consistent with the primary role in determining the content of everyday memory being taken by functional relevance. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.