Unanswered questions in assessment center research

This study compared the predictive validity of two types of overall assessment center ratings (clinical and mechanical) and two types of performance ratings (supervisor and subordinate). Data were gathered on approximately 50 law enforcement agency managers over a four-year time span. Results indicated that clinical predictions were not significantly better than mechanical ones and that prior performance ratings were better predictors of future performance ratings than were assessment centers. Further, dimension ratings within the assessment center were found to be unrelated to ratings of the same dimensions on the job four years later, supporting the notion of subtle criterion contamination (Klimoski & Strickland, 1977) and raising questions about the central assumptions underlying the assessment center approach.     

Work behavior correlates of interviewer job compatibility

Forced-choice scales were developed to measure the compatibility between worker preferences for job characteristics and actual characteristics of the job for purposes of predicting turnover and performance. The data confirmed the construct and criterion-related validity of the compatibility scores, but also indicated that the relationship between compatibility and voluntary termination was moderated by employee characteristics. Discussion centers on the implications of these findings for future job compatibility scale development and the application of this methodology to work settings where relatively homogeneous subgroups of employees differ with respect to personal and work circumstances.The authors thank the Public Opinion Laboratory of Northern Illinois University for supporting this research and Paula Howard, Robin Bebel, Alan Nordwall, and Barbara Zaitzow for their administrative assistance on this project. We also thank Gregory Sekowski and T.R. Biddle for their assistance on various aspects of the project. Finally, we thank all of the participants of the study without whom this research would not have been possible.     

Should assessment center dimension ratings be mechanically-derived?

This study examined the relationship between consensusderived and mechanically-derived assessment center ratings using a sample of 110 police candidates. It was determined that the two sets of dimension ratings were highly correlated (medianr=.83). Further, the mechanically-derived and the consensus-derived assessment ratings both correlated with the overall assessment ratings (OAR) at .71. It was estimated that the organization in this study could save $6137.92 a year, and $36.89 per assessee by eliminating the team meeting (consensus decision-making).     

Rating Level and Accuracy as a Function of Rater Personality

We investigated the predictability of rating level and two measures of rating accuracy from rater Agreeableness (A) and Conscientiousness (C) scores of the Five Factor Model. One hundred and twenty‐six students made peer ratings after participating in several group exercises under conditions designed to emulate the modal peer rating system in which raters had low accountability for their ratings. Scores were correlated with average rating level (r=.18, p<.05) and both measures of rating accuracy (p<.05) and C scores were correlated with rating level (?.20, p<.05) and both measures of rating accuracy (p<.05). As suggested by Bernardin, Villanova, and Cooke (Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 232–236, 2000), raters who were both more agreeable and less conscientious made the most lenient and least accurate ratings. Contrary to Yun, Donahue, Dudley, and McFarland (International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 13, 97–107, 2005), more agreeable raters also tended to rate the least effective performers more leniently than did other raters.     

Leniency effect as a function of rating format,purpose for appraisal,and rater individual differences

The effect of rating format and non-performance variables on rating leniency were studied in two law enforcement organizations. One of these variables, trust in the appraisal process, was defined as the extent to which a rater believes that fair and accurate appraisal will be made in the organization. A measure of trust in appraisal accounted for a significant proportion of variance in performance ratings. The purpose of appraisal (i.e., feedback or promotion) also accounted for rating variance. A mixed-standard rating format showed less susceptibility to the non-performance variables on the extent of leniency. Discussion centers on the usefulness of rater and organizational variables in performance appraisal research.     

The Differential Focus of Supervisors and Peers in Evaluations of Managerial Potential

This study proposes that evaluations of managerial potential by supervisors and peers differentially relate to the personality of the job candidate being evaluated. Specifically, we hypothesized that supervisors would focus on more task‐based personality traits, such as Conscientiousness and its facet of Self‐discipline while peers would instead focus on more contextual personality traits, such as Agreeableness and its facet of Tender‐mindedness. We applied a path analysis SEM approach to data collected from a field study of 114 triads of incumbents, supervisors, and peers of retail managers in a Fortune 500 organization. This approach provided support for our overall hypothesized models. A further analysis of significant paths suggested that ratees with high levels of Conscientiousness and Achievement‐striving appeal to supervisors when making evaluations of managerial potential. Ratees with high levels of Agreeableness, Altruism, and Tender‐mindedness and low levels of Openness to Experience, in contrast, appeal to peers.     

The effect of arbitration program characteristics on applicants' intentions toward potential employers

The authors examined intentions toward prospective employers with different alternative dispute resolution (ADR) policies and no ADR policy. In Study 1, students (N = 124) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions in which 2 variables, arbitration policy presence or absence and firm desirability, were manipulated. The presence of a voluntary, nonbinding arbitration policy had no impact on intentions and did not interact with firm desirability. In Study 2, students (N = 273) were randomly assigned to 1 of 8 conditions (mandatory vs. voluntary arbitration, binding vs. nonbinding arbitration, and highly desirable vs. less desirable employer). Both mandatory and binding arbitration policies were related to less favorable intentions toward firms. Predictions regarding the interaction of ADR policy and firm desirability were partially supported. Some support was found for the interaction between ADR policy and ethnicity.     

Immoral,Incompetent, and Lacking Warmth: How Stereotypes of Teenage Fathers Compare to Those of Other Parents

Sex Roles - Constructions of teenage fathers largely portray them as absent, criminal, and violent (Johansson and Hammarén 2014; Kiselica and Kiselica 2014), with their identity tied to the...