Cutoff Scores that Optimize the Utility of a Fixed Quota of Successful Employees Selection Decision

The new utility model, proposed previously by the author, is used to establish test cutoff scores that optimize the utility of a ‘fixed quota of successful employees selection decision’. Within the model, the problem can be formulated as a constrained non-linear program, and, to obtain the solution, a sequential quadratic programming method is implemented. Next, the approach is illustrated by means of an example application which relates to the selection of a fixed quota of five successful employees for an entrance management position. Apart from detailing certain computational aspects of the procedure, the example allows also to clarify the issue of practical relevance. Finally, the limitations, as well as a generalization of the procedure to the simultaneous estimation of both optimal test and criterion cutoffs, are discussed.     

Sequential modulations of valence processing in the emotional Stroop task

This study investigated trial-to-trial modulations of the processing of irrelevant valence information. Participants (N = 126) responded to the frame color of pictures with positive, neutral, or negative affective content--a procedure known as an emotional Stroop task (EST). As is typically found, positive and negative pictures delayed responses as compared to neutral pictures. However, the type and extent of this valence-based interference depended on the irrelevant picture valence in the preceding trial. Whereas preceding exposure to negative valence prompted interference from positive and negative pictures, such interference was removed after neutral trials. Following positive pictures, interference from negative but not from positive pictures was observed. We suggest that these sequential modulations reflect automatic self-regulatory selection processes that help to keep the balance between attending to task-relevant information and task-irrelevant information that signals important changes in the environment.     

Determinants of academic self-efficacy in different socialization contexts: investigating the relationship between students’ academic self-efficacy and its sources in different contexts

Social Psychology of Education - The present study examined the four sources of self-efficacy (mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal and social persuasion, and physiological state) and...     

Precueing spatial S-R correspondence: is there regulation of expected response conflict?

Four experiments investigated the ability to prepare for the level of forthcoming stimulus-response correspondence in choice-response tasks. In a Simon task, participants responded to the color of spatially variable stimuli with spatially variable responses. Participants were given advance information about whether a forthcoming stimulus-response event would be spatially corresponding, neutral, or spatially noncorresponding. Reliable cues decreased reaction times (RTs) in the corresponding conditions of 2- and 3-choice tasks, decreased RTs in noncorresponding conditions of a 2-choice task but not in a 3-choice task, and left RTs in neutral conditions unaffected. The pattern of results suggests that participants used reliable cues for responding to the nominally irrelevant stimulus location if the correct response could be inferred from location (attention switching). By contrast, the lack of cueing effects on performance in noncorresponding conditions of 3-choice tasks suggests that participants cannot use cues for changing the attentional weights of processing channels for different stimulus dimensions (gating). In summary, gating may be involved in the regulation of experienced response conflict, but the present results suggest that it is not involved in the regulation of expected (i.e., predicted) response conflict.     

Simple imputation methods versus direct likelihood analysis for missing item scores in multilevel educational data

Missing data, such as item responses in multilevel data, are ubiquitous in educational research settings. Researchers in the item response theory (IRT) context have shown that ignoring such missing data can create problems in the estimation of the IRT model parameters. Consequently, several imputation methods for dealing with missing item data have been proposed and shown to be effective when applied with traditional IRT models. Additionally, a nonimputation direct likelihood analysis has been shown to be an effective tool for handling missing observations in clustered data settings. This study investigates the performance of six simple imputation methods, which have been found to be useful in other IRT contexts, versus a direct likelihood analysis, in multilevel data from educational settings. Multilevel item response data were simulated on the basis of two empirical data sets, and some of the item scores were deleted, such that they were missing either completely at random or simply at random. An explanatory IRT model was used for modeling the complete, incomplete, and imputed data sets. We showed that direct likelihood analysis of the incomplete data sets produced unbiased parameter estimates that were comparable to those from a complete data analysis. Multiple-imputation approaches of the two-way mean and corrected item mean substitution methods displayed varying degrees of effectiveness in imputing data that in turn could produce unbiased parameter estimates. The simple random imputation, adjusted random imputation, item means substitution, and regression imputation methods seemed to be less effective in imputing missing item scores in multilevel data settings.     

A new learning paradigm elicits fast visual discrimination in pigeons

The authors describe a novel multistimulus, multiple-matching learning paradigm for pigeons, which they believe not only simulates pigeons' natural foraging behavior but also more realistically shows their visual discrimination ability. A touch screen thin film transistor panel shows a stimulus configuration consisting of a 2-dimensional array of bitmap images that changes from trial to trial. The pigeon's task during each trial is to peck at images that are defined as positive by the experimenter. An experiment exploring the ability of pigeons to discriminate between achromatic male and female human faces demonstrated the effectiveness of the procedure. In contrast to 12 pigeons that show little improvement over 60 hr of go/no-go discrimination training, 14 multiple-matching pigeons mastered the problem within a few hours.     

Entwicklung religiöser Glaubensfähigkeit

Faith in a broad sense is viewed as trustingly turning to a (personal) object located in the immanent as well as in the (relativ or absolute) transcendental field. The author describes on grounds of the object relational theory how the ability for faith is developing already in early childhood. In case of a beneficial development a firstly archaic faith is replaced later on by a faithful certainty (basic confidence) and, finally, by personal faith. Other forms of faith (faithful longing, magic or irrational faith culminating in fanatism) is viewed by the author as a consequence of unresolved archaic anxiety from the absolute evil. The development of the ability for religious faith is explained on the basis of the model of intersubjective narcissism.     

Dorsal and ventral processing under dual-task conditions

It is widely acknowledged that visual input is processed along two anatomically and functionally distinct pathways--a ventral pathway for conscious perception and a dorsal pathway for action control. The present study investigated whether the apparent direct and unmediated processing in the dorsal stream is subject to capacity limitations. Specifically, we tested whether a simple dorsal task of grasping an object is affected by the psychological refractory period (PRP), a well-known indication of capacity limitations. Subjects performed an auditory choice reaction task and then, following varying delays, had to judge an object's width (ventral task) or grasp an object across its width (dorsal task). Although these tasks were differentially affected by irrelevant variation of the objects' length, they were subject to comparable dual-task interference. These results show that despite important differences between ventral and dorsal information processing, both modes of processing are constrained by limited capacities.     

A closer look at the frame-of-reference effect in personality scale scores and validity

This article contributes to the understanding of why the use of a frame-of-reference leads to increased criterion-related validity of personality inventories. Two competing explanations are described and tested. A between-subjects (N = 337) and a within-subject (N = 105) study are conducted to test the hypothesized effects of use of a frame of reference on reliability and validity. Regarding the effects on reliability, use of a frame of reference reduces within-person inconsistency (instead of between-person variability) in responding to generic items. Use of a frame of reference further leads to higher validity as a result of the reduction of between-person variability and within-person inconsistency. Yet, reducing these inconsistencies is not enough. It is also important to use a frame of reference that is conceptually relevant to the criterion. Besides implications for contextualized personality inventories, these results provide an explanation for the moderate validities of generic personality inventories.     

The relative importance of task,citizenship and counterproductive performance to job performance ratings: Do rater source and team‐based culture matter?

This study contributes to our understanding of which factors predict raters' policies for combining performance components into an overall job performance rating. We used a work‐roles framework to examine the effects of rater source and team‐based culture. The sample consisted of 612 individuals in three job categories (317 nurses, 168 personnel recruiters and 127 sales representatives). Respondents rated employee performance profiles that were described on task, citizenship and counterproductive performance. Raters' weights differed by (a) organizational culture (low‐ vs. high‐team‐based); (b) rating source (supervisor vs. peer) and (c) job. In a team‐based culture, more weight was given to citizenship performance and less to task performance. Peers attached more importance to citizenship performance and less to task performance. Implications of these findings for performance management are discussed.