Managers' Implicit Assumptions About Personnel

ABSTRACT— Effective managers recognize both positive and negative changes in employee performance and take appropriate remedial action when required. Managers' assumptions about the rigidity or malleability of personal attributes (e.g., ability and personality) affect their performance of these critical personnel management tasks. To the extent that managers assume that personal attributes are fixed traits that are largely stable over time, they tend to inadequately recognize actual changes in employee performance and are disinclined to coach employees regarding how to improve their performance. However, a growth-mindset intervention can lead managers to relinquish their fixed mindset and subsequently provide more accurate performance appraisals and helpful employee coaching. Implications for performance evaluation procedures and avenues for future research are outlined.     

Rasch analysis and item reduction of the hypomanic personality scale

The aim of the current study was to reduce the number of items in the 48-item hypomanic personality scale (HPS) and determine whether a unidimensional scale of the hypomanic trait could be derived. Previously collected HPS data from University students (n = 318) were applied to the Rasch model (one-parameter item response theory). Overall scale and individual item fit statistics were used to judge fit to the model and item maps employed to determine coverage of the trait. Cronbach’s Alpha and correlations with other questionnaires pre- and post-item reduction were evaluated. Rasch analysis indicated that the original HPS was not unidimensional, had significant redundancy and differential item functioning by age and gender. An iterative process of item reduction produced a 20-item HPS (HPS-20) that retained the concepts of the original HPS and had excellent fit to the Rasch model (χ² p = 0.27). Unidimensionality of the HPS-20 was confirmed. The traditional psychometric properties of the HPS-20 and coverage of the underlying hypomanic construct were similar to the original. It was possible to derive a unidimensional measure of the hypomanic trait. Further use of the HPS-20 is encouraged as it may increase understanding of the risk factors for affective disorders.     

Analyzing Job Analysis Data Using Mixture Rasch Models

An important piece of validity evidence to support the use of credentialing exams comes from performing a job analysis of the profession. One common job analysis method is the task inventory method, where people working in the field are surveyed using rating scales about the tasks thought necessary to safely and competently perform the job. This article describes how mixture Rasch models can be used to analyze these data, and how results from these analyses can help to identify whether different groups of people may be responding to job tasks differently. Three examples from different credentialing programs illustrate scenarios that can be found when applying mixture Rasch models to job analysis data. Discussion of what these results may imply for the development of credentialing exams and other analyses of job analysis data is provided.     

Fostering a “Group Ethos”: Truth or Dare!

A group ethos permeates the two Special Issues of Group dedicated to the future of group psychotherapy in the 21st century. This ethos is elaborated through a parable, an integration of authors' conclusions, and a brief exploration of the myths and basic assumptions about group leadership and followership that characterized the 20th century. A new basic assumption is proposed for the 21st. BaC suggests that members are drawn to groups for the unconscious collaboration necessary to discover something between them, as yet untold—something that may hold the key to their own fates and to the human condition.     

Spurious Latent Class Problem in the Mixed Rasch Model: A Comparison of Three Maximum Likelihood Estimation Methods under Different Ability Distributions

Recent research has shown that over-extraction of latent classes can be observed in the Bayesian estimation of the mixed Rasch model when the distribution of ability is non-normal. This study examined the effect of non-normal ability distributions on the number of latent classes in the mixed Rasch model when estimated with maximum likelihood estimation methods (conditional, marginal, and joint). Three information criteria fit indices (Akaike information criterion, Bayesian information criterion, and sample size adjusted BIC) were used in a simulation study and an empirical study. Findings of this study showed that the spurious latent class problem was observed with marginal maximum likelihood and joint maximum likelihood estimations. However, conditional maximum likelihood estimation showed no overextraction problem with non-normal ability distributions.     

Tableau reductions: Towards an optimal decision procedure for the modal necessity

We present a new prefixed tableau system $\mathsf{TK}$ for verification of validity in modal logic $\mathsf{K}$. The system $\mathsf{TK}$ is deterministic, it uniquely generates exactly one proof tree for each clausal representation of formulas, and, moreover, it uses some syntactic reductions of prefixes. $\mathsf{TK}$ is defined in the original methodology of tableau systems, without any external technique such as backtracking, backjumping, etc. Since all the necessary bookkeeping is built into the rules, the system is not only a basis for a validity algorithm, but is itself a decision procedure. We present also a deterministic tableau decision procedure which is an extension of $\mathsf{TK}$ and can be used for the global assumptions problem.     

An Introduction to Network Psychometrics: Relating Ising Network Models to Item Response Theory Models

In recent years, network models have been proposed as an alternative representation of psychometric constructs such as depression. In such models, the covariance between observables (e.g., symptoms like depressed mood, feelings of worthlessness, and guilt) is explained in terms of a pattern of causal interactions between these observables, which contrasts with classical interpretations in which the observables are conceptualized as the effects of a reflective latent variable. However, few investigations have been directed at the question how these different models relate to each other. To shed light on this issue, the current paper explores the relation between one of the most important network models—the Ising model from physics—and one of the most important latent variable models—the Item Response Theory (IRT) model from psychometrics. The Ising model describes the interaction between states of particles that are connected in a network, whereas the IRT model describes the probability distribution associated with item responses in a psychometric test as a function of a latent variable. Despite the divergent backgrounds of the models, we show a broad equivalence between them and also illustrate several opportunities that arise from this connection.     

GT与IRT的比较: 北京奥运会男子10米跳台跳水分析

概化理论(GT)和项目反应理论(IRT)从两个不同的方向发展了经典测量理论, GT和IRT中的多面Rasch测量模型(MFRM)在主观评分中都可以用来估计评分中各变异来源对变异的贡献, 对测评的信度进行估计, 提出测评改进意见。12名运动员参加了2008北京奥运会男子10米跳台跳水决赛, 比赛共6个回合, 7名裁判独立对他们在各个回合的表现进行打分。GT和MFRM比较一致地认为运动员自身、回合、运动员与回合的交互效应是运动员得分的重要变异来源, 而裁判员对运动员得分差异的贡献不显著。MFRM同时还估计出难度系数是影响男子跳台跳水成绩的重要变异来源, 在评分等级6.5附近存在步校准错乱, 得出的运动员成绩排序与2008奥运实际排序有所不同。在GT中难度系数作为隐藏侧面, 其效应未能分离出来。GT和MFRM从两个不同的方面给测量提供改进意见: GT发现可以通过增加回合数来提高g系数, 而增加裁判数对其影响不大。MFRM给出各侧面的要素(如某裁判、运动员等)的估计值及其标准误, 它给出的诊断性拟合统计也有助于甄别异常得分或评分模式。     

Nonparametric goodness-of-fit tests for the rasch model

A Monte Carlo algorithm realizing a family of nonparametric tests for the Rasch model is introduced which are conditional on the item and subject marginals. The algorithm is based on random changes of elements of data matrices without changing the marginals; most powerful tests against all alternative hypotheses are given for which a monotone characteristic may be computed from the data matrix; alternatives may also be composed. Computation times are long, but exactp-values are approximated with the quality of approximation only depending on calculation time, but not on the number of persons. The power and the flexibility of the procedure is demonstrated by means of an empirical example where, among others, indicators for increased item similarities, the existence of subscales, violations of sufficiency of the raw score as well as learning processes were found. Many of the features described are implemented in the program T-Rasch 1.0 by Ponocny and Ponocny-Seliger (1999).The author wishes to thank Alexander Kaba, Birgit Bukasa, and Ulrike Wenninger of Österreichisches Kuratorium für Verkehrssicherheit (Austrian Traffic Safety Board) for allowing a data set to be used for the empirical example, and Elisabeth Ponocny-Seliger and the reviewers for many helpful comments. The menu-driven program T-Rasch 1.0 by Ponocny and Ponocny-Seliger (1999) can be obtained from Assessment Systems Corporation (http: //www.assess.com) or from the authors. (Note that it also performs exact person fit tests.)