AN EXAMINATION OF THE EFFECTS OF USING BEHAVIOR CHECKLISTS ON THE CONSTRUCT VALIDITY OF ASSESSMENT CENTER DIMENSIONS

Although research has established the criterion-related validity of assessment centers for selection purposes, the construct validity of dimension ratings has not been demonstrated. A quasi-experimental design was used to investigate the influence of retranslated behavior checklists on the construct validity of dimension ratings for two assessment center exercises. Assessor use of behavior checklists increased the average convergent (i.e., same dimension across exercise) validity from .24 to .43 while decreasing the average discriminant (i.e., different dimension within exercise) validity (.47 to .41). Behavior checklist sums were moderately correlated with corresponding dimension ratings and demonstrated a comparable level of construct validity. It is suggested that using behavior checklists may improve dimension construct validity by reducing the cognitive demands placed on raters.     

Interpersonal Deception

Interpersonal deception theory (IDT) frames deception as a communication activity and examines deception within interactive contexts. One key element of the theory is the role of suspicion in prompting behavior changes. An experiment testing several suspicion-related hypotheses paired participants (half friends, half strangers) for interviews during which interviewees (EEs) lied or told the truth and interviewers (ERs) were induced to be (moderately or highly) suspicious (or not). Results confirmed that suspicion and deceit were perceived when present, suspicion was manifested through nonverbal behaviors but with different behavioral patterns for moderately versus highly suspicious ERs, and suspicion affected sender behavior. Relational familiarity moderated some behaviors. Results are discussed in terms of mutual influence processes and the dynamic nature of communication in interpersonal deception.     

Factors Associated with Engagement in Family Therapy

Thirty-eight families who continued in conjoint family therapy were compared on a variety of antecedent variables to 13 families who dropped out. Three potentially important predictors of continuance in family therapy were found: (a) which spouse initiated the search for treatment; (b) the level of authoritarianism in the spouses; and (c) family socioeconomic status. Families that dropped out of treatment tended to be of lower socioeconomic status and contained spouses who had more highly authoritarian attitudes as measured by the California F Scale ( 1 ). Families that contained a severly disturbed member had a poor rate of engagement in treatment, but if both spouses in such a family were low in authoritarianism, the engagement rate was 100 per cent. When both spouses initiated the search for treatment, engagement was also nearly perfect. The difficulty in engaging families from the lowest socio-economic class may be attributed partly to the authoritarian attitudes of the husband.     

Mexican American emerging adults' relationships with siblings and dimensions of familism values

We used a person‐oriented approach to describe the profiles of Mexican American emerging adults' relationships with siblings using affective/behavioral qualities (e.g., positivity) and relationship maintenance strategies (e.g., communication frequency) and to examine how profiles of sibling relationships were related to dimensions of Mexican American emerging adults' familism values. Using data from 186 Mexican American emerging adults (M_age = 21.56), we conducted latent profile analyses and identified three profiles of emerging adults' relationships with siblings: moderate (n = 106), positive/involved (n = 64), and negative/distant (n = 16). Our findings suggest that the majority of emerging adults in our study reported close relationships with siblings and dimensions of familism values were differentially associated with profiles of sibling relationship qualities.     

Parent Characteristics as Antecedents of Maternal Gatekeeping and Fathering Behavior

The present study examined the role of prebirth parent characteristics as predictors of maternal gatekeeping (mothers' attempts to encourage or discourage fathers' interaction with their infant) and fathering behavior. Parents' idealization of their relationships within their families of origin, beliefs about the roles of fathers, and personality attributes (negative emotionality and communion) were assessed before their infant's birth. At 3.5 months postpartum, maternal gatekeeping behaviors (negative control, facilitation) and fathers' involvement and competence with their infants were assessed during observation of triadic play and child care. Results suggest reciprocal relations between maternal gatekeeping and fathering behavior. Furthermore, greater paternal communion was associated with greater paternal competence during play, whereas greater maternal communion was associated with lower paternal competence during child care. Greater maternal communion and greater maternal idealization related to fathers' lower relative involvement during play. As for maternal gatekeeping behavior, high negative emotionality in 1 parent was only accompanied by high levels of inhibitory maternal gatekeeping when the other parent had less progressive beliefs about the father's role. The implications of these findings for clinicians and practitioners are discussed.     

Searching for the Glass Slipper: A Case Study in Midlife Career Counseling

There seems to be a paucity of counseling reports written from the perspective of both counselor and client. This article is presented as a case study of the first author's experience as a career counseling client of the second author. It is intended to illuminate for students and practitioners some typical counseling practices and the theoretical foundations from which they spring, as well as how the client reacted to them.     

Expected,ideal, and actual relational outcomes of emerging adults' “hook ups”

Despite the prevalence of “hooking up” among emerging adults, little is known about the outcomes of these encounters. A sample of 348 college students completed a survey on expected, ideal, and actual relational outcomes of hook ups (assessed at a 10‐week follow‐up). Results showed that most men and women expected outcomes involving minimal commitment (i.e., nothing more, continued sexual involvement). Ideal outcomes of hook ups differed by gender, with women more often hoping for romantic involvement, and men more likely to view continued sexual involvement as ideal. Actual outcomes varied, with continued sexual involvement the most common outcome (32.2%), followed by friendship (27.7%), romantic involvement (23.2%), and nothing more (17%); 43.8% of participants experienced fulfillment of ideal outcomes.