ASSESSMENT CENTERS—VALID OR MERELY PRESCIENT1

Published validation studies of assessment centers are reviewed with respect to criteria used, staff composition, and the number of organizations involved. Impressive, consistent results are noted, but a trend is identified: Acceptance of the method is based on relatively few studies, conducted by fewer organizations, using a limited range of criteria. It is argued that perhaps the assessment center staff is evaluating candidates based on its familiarity with the preferences of the decision makers who will actually promote, thus merely duplicating already existing decision procedures. What is needed are comparative predictive studies incorporating alternative predictors and criteria.     

Managing Demands on Counseling Services: The Colorado State University Experience

As we move into the next decade, greater student demands for counseling services, increased severity of presenting problems, and long waiting lists are becoming a reality at university and college counseling centers. These trends, coupled with limited financial resources, suggest that new models of case management and treatment are needed to maintain quality services. This article describes the development of a time-limited and managed-care treatment policy at the University Counseling Center at Colorado State University. It is offered as one agency's attempt to become more proactive in defining its responsibilities and limits regarding emerging challenges and changes on college campuses.     

Expectation-based and data-based illusory correlation: the effects of confirming versus disconfirming evidence

The present study (n=154) examines the effects of expectations and stimulus information on the perception of illusory correlation. There have been few studies attempting to integrate expectation-based and data- (distinctiveness-) based processes. These studies suggest that data-based illusory correlation can be overruled by prior expectations, but it is not clear whether this is a consequence of a confirmation bias. In the present study, where participants were not exposed to the specific stimulus information, expectation was manipulated by stating that group B behaved more negatively than group A. Moreover, participants were provided with information contained in a statement-rating task that allowed for the confirmation and disconfirmation of the prior expectations. Participants rated the desirability of these behaviours and also performed the standard illusory correlation tasks. Based on self-categorization theory and Alloy and Tabachnik (1984), we predicted that in the absence of prior expectations, completing the rating task before the illusory correlation tasks would produce stronger illusory correlation than the reverse order. However, in the presence of prior expectations we expected the rating task to undermine illusory correlation, because the information obtained in this task tends to disconfirm prior expectations. Results support the predicted interaction between task order and expectation. We discuss some implications for research on confirmation bias.     

The Moderating Relationship of Spirituality on Negative Life Events and Psychological Adjustment

The authors used a path model to examine how spirituality moderates relationships between negative life experiences and psychological adjustment, operationalized for this study as levels of depression and anxiety. Results suggest that spirituality provides a significant moderating effect for both depression and anxiety. The moderating effect was stronger for depression than for anxiety.     

On the difficulty of distinguishing “good” and “poor” perceivers: A social relations analysis of empathic accuracy data

Two studies were conducted to explore the reasons why replicable individual‐difference correlates of empathic accuracy have proved so difficult to find. In Study 1, we examined sources of variance in empathic accuracy data using the Social Relations Model (Kenny, 1988, 1994; Kenny & Albright, 1987; Malloy & Kenny, 1986). The results revealed substantial perceiver variance only in the type of research design in which a relatively large set of individual perceivers inferred the thoughts and feelings of the same set of target persons. In Study 2, we found evidence that even in this apparently optimal type of research design, the significant individual‐difference correlates of empathic accuracy were fewer and subject to more unexpected qualifications than the results of Davis and Kraus's (1997) meta‐analysis would suggest. So far, the “best candidate” predictor of empathic accuracy appears to be verbal intelligence, but it remains to be seen whether it and two other recently proposed predictors of interpersonal accuracy will survive the test of replicability.     

Mandated Clients in Career or Employment Counseling

The article describes some of the challenges facing employment counselors who are working with mandated clients. Suggestions are provided for use with mandated clients in individual and group employment counseling sessions.     

ETHNIC GROUP DIFFERENCES IN COGNITIVE ABILITY IN EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS: A META-ANALYSIS

The cognitive ability levels of different ethnic groups have interested psychologists for over a century. Many narrative reviews of the empirical literature in the area focus on the Black-White differences, and the reviews conclude that the mean difference in cognitive ability ( g ) is approximately 1 standard deviation; that is, the generally accepted effect size is about 1.0. We conduct a meta-analytic review that suggests that the one standard deviation effect size accurately summarizes Black-White differences for college application tests (e.g., SAT) and overall analyses of tests of g for job applicants in corporate settings. However, the 1 standard deviation summary of group differences fails to capture many of the complexities in estimating ethnic group differences in employment settings. For example, our results indicate that job complexity, the use of within job versus across job study design, focus on applicant versus incumbent samples, and the exact construct of interest are important moderators of standardized group differences. In many instances, standardized group differences are less than 1 standard deviation. We conduct similar analyses for Hispanics, when possible, and note that Hispanic-White differences are somewhat less than Black-White differences.