Worker estimation of ability requirements of their jobs

A modified version of the Minnesota Job Requirements Questionnaire (MJRQ), representing the GATB aptitudes, was used by workers in 11 selected jobs to rate the ability requirements of their jobs. Worker MJRQ ratings were compared with supervisor MJRQ ratings. Modified Occupational Ability Patterns (OAPs) derived from worker ratings were compared with OAPs based on supervisor ratings, OAPs from expert ratings in the DOT, and OAPs from the empirical GATB approach. Reliability of worker MJRQ ratings was comparable to that of supervisor ratings. Comparisons of mean ratings and variability of ratings of workers in a job category with workers in other jobs, and with supervisors rating the same job, showed construct validity for worker MJRQ ratings, as did intercorrelations of the worker ratings. OAPs derived from worker MJRQ ratings compared favorably with OAPs derived from supervisor MJRQ ratings, from the DOT, and from the GATB. Differences among workers on variables such as satisfaction, age and tenure did not significantly affect their MJRQ ratings. Implications of the worker MJRQ ratings are discussed.     

Exploring stereotypes of popular and unpopular occupations among women-in-general

To find clues to cultural meanings of highly popular and highly unpopular occupations from SVIB-W, 227 women-in-general subjects judged nine popular and nine unpopular titles on 26 semantic-differential scales. The ranges of prestige and femininity judgments were deliberately restricted, in the hope that less understood stereotypes would stand out independently of these familiar variables. Eleven scales effectively differentiated popular from unpopular occupations. These 11 polarities (a) both confirmed and disconfirmed common-sense predictions; (b) suggested themes that were not “WIG-bound,” themes probably relevant to parallel judgments in a male subculture; and (c) often echoed variables that have been treated elsewhere as “work-adjustment” needs, such as “variety,” “independence,” and “security.” Scale intercorrelations were low, with only a sprinkling of moderate relationships present; many scales helpfully tapped stereotypes that emerged independently of status perceptions. The role of a “femininity” variable remained ambiguous. Inspection of scale interrelationships suggested that factor structures of meaning in an occupational context will differ importantly from well-known structures displayed by general semantic judgments.     

Incidental learning in preschool children as a function of level of cognitive analysis

Preschool children's recall and clustering of organized lists of pictures were examined under deliberate instructions to remember or in incidental learning situations. The incidental tasks either required comprehension (categorization, or a rating of pleasantness-unpleasantness) or were formal orienting tasks involving processing in terms of physical features.Explicit instruction to remember and formal incidental instructions did not differ, and both lead to poorer performance than the comprehension activities. Categorization, whether accompanied by explicit instructions to recall, or occurring in the context of a meaningful activity, was no more efficient than categorization in and for itself. With children as with adults, it is the activity of the children which determines depth of processing and subsequent retention, not the intent to remember per se.     

Developmental differences in rehearsal and free recall

The purpose of this experiment was to analyze developmental differences in rehearsal strategies which may mediate the commonly found age effect on free recall. As expected, significant age differences in recall were found; analysis of rehearsal strategies showed that fifth and eighth graders tended to repeat stimulus words immediately after presentation, and not enter items into subsequent rehearsal sets. Adults, in contrast, tended to reenter items for additional rehearsal, and had larger rehearsal buffers. Immediate repetition may have served as additional massed presentation trials, which are less consequential for learning than later reentry of items (spaced trials). It was inferred that children engaged primarily in maintenance rehearsal, and adults in both maintenance and elaborative rehearsal.     

Self-evaluation,self-reinforcement,and locus of control

Two verbal recognition memory tests were administered to 24 internals and 24 externals. Subjects were required to self-evaluate (SE) their responses on the first test and both SE and self-reinforce (SR) on the second. There were no internal-external differences in performance accuracy on either task, but internals gave themselves consistently higher self-evaluations, administered more positive SR and less negative SR. There were no differences in the criteria used by the two groups for SR. SR differences appeared to be a function of the differential SE. It was suggested that external locus of control could be viewed as a self-regulation deficit. Externals are hypothesized to be unable to evaluate their own behavior adequately in the absence of external input and therefore do not make effective use of self-reinforcement. Discussion also made reference to the process of self-regulation.     

Exploring new directions for Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory Occupational Scale construction

Recent concern for eliminating Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) sex bias has focused on the current use of separately normed Occupational Scales for the two sexes. This study implemented six basic methods of scale construction to examine the feasibility of combined-sex scales as well as advantages or disadvantages of modifications of current techniques designed to improve both single-sex and combined-sex scale construction. To study these six methods of scale construction, samples of male and female Ph.D. sociologists were collected. Concurrent validity and test-retest reliability data indicated that combined-sex scale construction for sociologists is possible if differences in female and male occupational interests, as measured by the SVIB, are treated as irrelevant variables in the world of work, and if concurrent validity is sacrificed.     

An evaluation of outcome variables in the systematic desensitization of test anxiety.

This study investigated the effects of group systematic desensitization and group counseling on anxiety and academic performance. Fifty-four undergraduates who requested help for debilitating test anxiety were randomly assigned to Desensitization. Group Counseling, or No-treatment control groups. Measures of test anxiety, trait anxiety, and academic achievement were obtained for all students' pre- and post-treatment. The Desensitization group showed a significant decrease in test anxiety; the Counseling and No-treatment groups showed no changes in these measures. None of the groups showed any change in trait anxiety or academic achievement. The results provided evidence that systematic desensitization was an effective treatment for reducing test anxiety, but not for improving grades.