Offender interviewing in custodial settings: Understanding validity,value and veracity issues

The purpose of this scoping literature review was to identify trends regarding validity, value and veracity issues when conducting (qualitative) interviews with offenders in custodial settings. We selected for review works from electronic databases in SAGE, Springer, and Taylor and Francis by using e-journals, Google Scholar and the behavioural science database, PsycINFO. The inclusion criteria for our studies were based on whether sources addressed offender interviewing as a wellspring of information, but excluded those that focused solely on the acquisition of clinical information (at the expense of focusing on validity, value and veracity issues). We utilised the content analysis approach to identify themes/ patterns in the research findings. Key findings suggest that offenders with impression management motivations deceive and manipulate in their research interview presentations. When gathering data from inmates in custodial care settings, best practice includes cross-checking offender interview data against other sources of evidence and taking into account the context in which they are serving their sentences.     

True intercorrelation among job components, time delay in rating, and rater intelligence as determinants of accuracy in performance ratings

Ninety subjects viewed one of three sets of videotapes which presented simulated work performances by five ratees. Subjects viewed videotapes where the true intercorrelation among the three job components was either high, moderate, or low. Half of the subjects completed ratings immediately after viewing all five ratees and again, 24 h later. The remaining subjects completed ratings only once, 24 h after viewing the videotapes. Rater intelligence was assessed via the Wesman Personnel Classification Test. Performance ratings for each ratee on each of the three job components were completed using a magnitude estimation scale. Subjects' ratings were compared to ratee true scores (based on objective worker output) to obtain four components of rater accuracy: elevation, differential elevation, stereotype accuracy, and differential accuracy as well as a measure of overall accuracy. Results indicated that subjects' ratings were more accurate with respect to overall accuracy and differential accuracy when the true intercorrelation among job components was high rather than low. Rater intelligence was significantly correlated with stereotype accuracy. In addition, rater intelligence was significantly related to overall accuracy, differential elevation, and elevation, but only when the true intercorrelation among job components was moderate or high. Also, there was a curvilinear component to the relationship between intelligence and both differential accuracy and stereotype accuracy such that the most intelligent raters tended to be less accurate than more moderately intelligent raters who were, in turn, more accurate than the least intelligent raters. Finally, subjects' immediate ratings were not more accurate than ratings provided by subjects who completed only delayed ratings. However, repeated measures analyses found that for subjects who completed both immediate and delayed ratings, delayed ratings were less accurate than immediate ratings with respect to overall accuracy, differential accuracy, and differential elevation.     

The Influence of Indirect Knowledge of Previous Performance on Ratings of Present Performance: The Effects of Job Familiarity and Rater Training

In a 2 × 2 × 2 crossed factorial design, trained or untrained subjects viewed a videotape and evaluated performance on either a familiar (college lecturer) or unfamiliar (salesperson) job. Prior to viewing the videotape, some subjects reviewed positive information about the ratee's prior performance, whereas other subjects did not review any prior performance information. To determine whether assimilation or contrast effects occurred, we compared ratings provided by subjects who reviewed positive information about prior performance with ratings provided by subjects who did not review any prior performance information. A three-way interaction was obtained. Ratings of performance on the familiar job by untrained or trained subjects revealed only a small assimilation effect. However, when rating performance on the unfamiliar job, a large assimilation effect was observed among untrained subjects, whereas a large contrast effect was observed among trained subjects. The results indicate that rater error training may reverse, rather than reduce or eliminate, rating errors that arise from knowledge of a ratee's prior performance. Implications for further understanding and reducing assimilation and contrast effects are discussed.     

Technology and Older Adults: Factors Affecting the Adoption of Automatic Teller Machines

Although technology can benefit service providers, caregivers, and the elderly, its application in an aging society can bring special challenges. This study looked at older adults' adoption of one technology that is highly prevalent in modern society—the automatic teller machine (ATM). The findings indicated that users and nonusers differed in mechanical reasoning skills and in attitudes toward ATM technology. Older adults with higher mechanical reasoning skills were more likely to be ATM users. Nonusers had more negative attitudes toward ATMs, and, among non-users, those who had tried an ATM had more positive attitudes than those who had never tried one. The findings of this study are discussed in terms of factors that may affect the adoption of other technologies by older adults. Suggestions for increasing the acceptance of technologies by the elderly are also addressed.     

Can Psychotherapy Research Serve as a Guide for Research About Executive Coaching? An Agenda for the Next Decade

Although there are important differences between psychotherapy and executive coaching, both seek to bring about behavior change and both involve a relationship between a professional (e.g., therapist, coach) and a client (e.g., patient, executive). Numerous meta-analyses conducted over the past 30 years have established the efficacy of psychotherapy, but research on the efficacy of executive coaching is scarce at best. Based on a review of meta-analyses of psychotherapy, I present eight questions to guide research concerning executive coaching. For each question, I present the results of psychotherapy meta-analyses and discuss the implications for executive coaching research and practice. The voluminous history of psychotherapy research points to important questions and methodological issues that should guide future research about the impact and practice of executive coaching.     

An experimental test of the influence of selection procedures on fairness perceptions,attitudes about the organization,and job pursuit intentions

College juniors and seniors (N=184) reviewed a 12-page college recruiting brochure containing information about a large, high-technology corporation. Six versions of the brochure created a 2×3 experimental design in which the compensation and selection practices of the company were manipulated. Compensation and benefit packages were described as being either above or comparable to the industry average. The selection procedure was described as either a biodata inventory, an abstract cognitive test, or an in-basket simulation. We hypothesized that selection procedures would have an indirect, rather than direct, effect on attitudes about the organization and job pursuit intentions. LISREL analyses found good fits for the measurement model (RNI=.97) and the structural model (RNI=.95). All hypothesized paths were significant (p<.05) except for the path between compensation and attitudes about the organization. It is suggested that different selection procedures with comparable levels of validity may have different effects on candidates' attitudes about employers.     

Examining the Relationship Between Action Video Game Experience and Performance in a Distracted Driving Task

We conducted two experiments to assess the hypothesis that experienced action video game players will exhibit superior performance in a distracted driving task. In the first experiment, experienced gamers and controls drove in a driving simulator, with and without distraction. Experienced AVG players exhibited fewer lane deviations during driving as compared to non-gamers; however, video game experience was not associated with fewer lane deviations while distracted. These results showed evidence for the video game experience effect however, no evidence of improved cognitive ability was found. In the second experiment, we informed participants of the hypothesis to replicate the methods of studies that do not mask the purpose of the research. We found video game experience again was associated with fewer driving errors, but was still not associated with better driving performance while distracted; however, gamers recalled more details of the distracting conversation and reported lower workload while driving than non-gamers. We use these results to argue for caution in interpreting research with experienced gamers and increased replication with attention paid to recruitment methodology within this research domain. Finally, our results indicate that understanding the nature of AVG experience on task performance requires careful attention to motivational factors.     

PERSONALITY,DEMOGRAPHICS, AND ACCULTURATION OF VIETNAMESE AND NICARAGUAN REFUGEES TO THE UNITED STATES

The influx of refugees into the United States in recent years has led to a new interest in acculturation on the part of North American psychologists. Previous research in this area has usually focused on demographic, rather than psychological, variables as predictors of a willingness to acculturate. Using samples of Nicaraguan and Vietnamese refugees, the present study compared personality factors and age, level of education, and time in the U.S. as predictors of acculturation. Although results for the Nicaraguans were mixed, personality factors emerged as being better predictors in the Vietnamese group. This suggests that, in some cases, personality factors may be more basic to the process of acculturation than previously assumed.