Let's Nuke the Transpersonalists: A Response to Albert Ellis

In a 1986 article, Albert Ellis proposed to use rational-emotive therapy (RET) to save the world from religious and psychological fanatics and nuclear war. However, Ellis's article was marred by inaccurate, illogical, and absolutist attacks on religion and non-RET psychologies and claims for RET. This article attempts to correct those errors and to provide a more balanced view of religion, RET, non-RET therapies, and the role of psychology in averting nuclear war.     

THE EFFECTS OF PERCEIVED SYSTEM KNOWLEDGE ON THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN SELF-RATINGS AND SUPERVISOR RATINGS

The viability of self-assessment in the performance appraisal process has been the focus of recent work. Although some contend that self-appraisals can be beneficial, the consistent finding of lenient and inaccurate self-ratings has led others to discount and doubt their usefulness. Recent research (Farh & Dobbins, 1989a,b) has investigated the influence of a variety of factors in improving the accuracy of self-ratings. The present study was conducted to examine the effect of perceived system knowledge (PSK) on the discrepancy between self- and supervisor ratings. Seventy-three employees of two banking institutions participated by completing a questionnaire on their perceived knowledge of the performance appraisal system. The results of moderated regression analyses suggest that the level of knowledge did in fact influence the agreement among subordinates and supervisors. Self-ratings were more congruent with supervisors'ratings when the subordinates reported high levels of perceived system knowledge. Implications of these findings for organizations and areas for future research are discussed.     

DEVELOPMENT OF A BEHAVIORALLY BASED PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM

This paper describes the development of a behaviorally based performance appraisal system. Blanz and Ghiselli's Mixed Standard Scale was used as the basis for developing the performance appraisal system for assessing the performance of highway patrol personnel. However, the particular developmental procedures described here differ in some respects from those reported in the literature. Rather than developing rating items describing general traits such as "diligence,""initiative," or "enthusiasm" in behavioral terms, the items in the present scale were developed to describe proficiency levels of specific job tasks. This characteristic is expected to enhance the objectivity of the evaluation system for both appraisal and job counseling purposes. The appraisal instrument was subjected to a series of reliability and validity tests that demonstrated its high reliability and validity. Although the content of the appraisal sytem desribed here included highway patrol tasks, a similar system could be developed using the procedures described for a wide variety and level of jobs.