Voluntary response selection in free association

Reaction time (RT) in free association (FA) is assumed to consist of three components: stimulus word encoding, response selection, and response generation. The RT of word naming contains the first and third components only. If response selection is a serial voluntary search it can be manipulated by rewarding response speeding. This would lead the subject to terminate the search sooner. Thus, greater speeding will be achieved for delayed responses, for which search was long, than for undelayed ones. This differential speeding effect was observed in Experriment 1 ( N =17), in which the task was FA. Speeding effect was not differential in Experiment 2, in which the subjects ( N =16) were given a word naming task. Both of these experiments employed a between-subjects design. Their results were replicated in Experiment 3 ( N =13), which employed a within-subject design. The results, taken together, suggest that differential speeding is specific to response selection, in accordance with Flekkoy's (1973 a , 1981) voluntary selection model. However, they are inconsistent with the traditional associonistic models.     

Good to the last drop? Millikan stories as “canned” pedagogy

In recent literature, the famous Millikan oil-drop experiment appears as a case of “good scientific judgment” on the one hand, and scientific misconduct on the other. This article discusses different interpretations of the fact that Nobel laureate Robert Millikan’s notebooks show that he eliminated a number of oildrops in his published 1913 paper on the charge of the electron, while reporting that he had included all the drops. Starting with the common source of all Millikan stories, historian of physics Gerald Holton’s 1978 paper, I discuss recent “canned” versions of Millikan-as-misbehaver in books on scientific fraud. Then I examine some versions of Millikan-as-good-scientist, particularly the reconstruction by historian of physics Allan Franklin, and the views of some practicing physicists. Finally, we have an instructive head-on collision between the two standard treatments of Millikan. The problem with canned stories is not only insufficient information; we also lack a realistic evaluation of the role of ethics in science. As a fundamentally knowledge-seeking enterprise, science may harbor an inherent, perhaps irresolvable, conflict between scientific and ethical concerns. The author’s special interests include standards for “good science”, science and values, and social psychology.     

Trust and the collection,selection, analysis and interpretation of data: A scientist’s view

Trust is a critical component of research: trust in the work of co-workers and colleagues within the scientific community; trust in the work of research scientists by the non-research community. A wide range of factors, including internally and externally generated pressures and practical and personal limitations, affect the research process. The extent to which these factors are understood and appreciated influence the development of trust in scientific research findings.     

Requirements for a Democratic Education Organization

What makes a democratic school democratic? This question is answered using the example of the Swiss education system; the focus, however, is not on the usual pedagogic perspective of teaching democracy, but on the democratic organization of the education system. The discussion concentrates on two basic requirements for a democratic education organization: on the one hand, education for all under the equal rights premise calls for the definition of an educational minimum for all students. At the same time, defining this minimum presupposes selection among the students. For part of the students are -- through the use of public funds -- being educated beyond the minimum; a situation which needs to be democratically legitimized. The selection is based on academic performance; as yet, a valuable alternative to this type of selection does not exist. On the other hand, it is essential in a democratic education organization that the authorities put in charge of certain responsibilities are democratically legitimized and controlled. The same applies to newly created authorities, such as principalships or autonomous schools, the introduction of which has been demanded repeatedly for some time now.

     

民航飞行学员选拔方法的建立：中德飞行学员能力测验分数的比较

９０年代初,中国民航在有关现代航空人类因素研究的基础上,开始对其飞行员选拔程序展开了一系列的修订工作。随着空中交通密度的逐渐增高,新型喷气客机的问世以及国际航线的不断延伸,从而使今后对高素质飞行员的需要更加迫切。１９９４年中国民航与德国汉莎航空公司携手合作,旨在评价德国这套较为成熟的飞行员选拔程序在中国文化背景下的适应性。该测试系统包括人格、心理运动以及诸如航空知识、操作等能力因素的测量与评价。经一系列汉化及文化适应性修订后,３４６名中国飞行候选者接受本套系统的测试。结果表明,与德国候选者相比,中国被试在技术知识和数学能力上显著优于德国被试,但在心理运动和英语听力方面却显著低于德国样本的均值水平。１９９８年将与中国民航飞行学院一道开展该测试系统的效度研究。     

To share or not to share: The place of personal disclosure in scholarly writing

The norms of scholarly discourse have traditionally excluded personal disclosures in conceptual articles, as if the subjective nature of such revelations would be inconsistent with the scientific/objective stature of these works. Based on the author's experience with a recent publication, based on recent studies of researcher projection and bias in case studies, and using a framework of organizational communication, it is suggested here that there is indeed a contribution such disclosures can make. It is not recommended that sharing on a personal level become a new norm, but rather that the choice to share be considered as viable in a scholarly context. Five specific benefits of such sharing are listed, including unearthing and revealing bias, demystifying the process of discovery, and avoiding the trap of defensive reasoning.     

人格维度与注意分配的关系及其选拔意义

本研究以210名男性大学生为被试,EPQ确定人格维度,微机测量注意分配,运用正交设计实验与区组实验相结合的方法综合论述了人格维度与注意分配的关系发现:E、E×N、P×E对注意分配有显著影响,N有一定影响,P和P×N的影响不显著。各影响因素的重要性顺序:E×N→P×E/E→N→P→P×N/误差,绘制了单项人格维度与注意分配关系简图。确定了三种人格维度的最佳组合型(注意分配可望最优):P1N2E1,次佳组合型:P3N2E1,最差组合型:P2N3E1,各型注意分配均值分别为0.702、0.680、0.309,本文探讨了实验结果的选拔意义,认为可从个体EPQ的结果来估测其注意分配能力,这在职业心理选拔中有重要应用价值。     

The Validity of the Employment Interview: A Meta-Analysis

The interview is the most widely used personnel selection method, but has revealed low reliability and validity compared with other selection methods (Mayfield 1964; Ulrich and Trumbo 1965; Schmitt 1976; Arvey 1979). Thirty-one studies on the validity of the interview were meta-analyzed. The result was an average validity coefficient of .27. The estimated true validity of the interview was calculated to be .38. These values indicated that the interview has moderate validity as a personnel selection device. Six characteristics of the interview were also examined in relation to the validity of the interview: structure of the interview; number of interviewers; length of the interview; gender of the applicant pool; blue-collar/white-collar jobs; and use of college students versus job applicants. The six study characteristics accounted for 30.9% of the variance in the validity of the interview. Structure of the interview appeared to be the only characteristic that moderated the validity of the interview. The relationship of this study to other meta-analyses of the employment interview is discussed.