The College Plans of Academically Talented Students

Academically talented students scoring in the 95th and 99th percentiles on the 1986 ACTs were compared to each other and to “high average” students scoring in the 80th percentile in terms of their choices for college majors, extracurricular plans, and desires for services. Academically talented students were found to be narrow in their choices of majors but broad in their extracurricular interests. Although uninterested in personal counseling, they are demanding of career counseling, independent study, and honors opportunities.     

Responsibility-Inducing interventions with Older Clients

Robb, S.S., & Stegman, C.E. (1983). Companion animals and elderly people: A challenge for evaluators of social support. The Gerontologist, 23, 277–282. Ory, M.G., & Goldberg, E.L. (1983). Pet possession and well-being in elderly women. Research on Aging, 5, 389–409. Banziger, G., & Roush, S. (1983). Nursing homes for the birds: A control-relevant intervention with bird feeders. The Gerontologist, 23, 527–531.     

INTUITIVE-THEORETICAL SCALES OF CONTENT AND CONTEXT SATISFACTION

Evidence has suggested the usefulness of viewing job satisfaction as composed of content and context aspects. Armstrong attempted to develop intuitive-theoretical scales measuring content and context satisfaction but the scales lacked discriminant validity. The present study attempted the development of content and context scales based on Schletzer's overall job satisfaction instrument. After the criteria of internal consistency and discriminant validity were applied in refining scales, it was found that the inter-correlation between content and context scales after correction for attenuation was 0.06 and 0.05 for two separate samples of professional workers. It was concluded that the data provided some support for the content-context dichotomy. Application of the new scales and the general method for developing scales in industrial and organizational psychology are considered.     

LEADER INFLUENCE IN THE ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE

The role requirements of leaders in an assessment group context were manipulated in a laboratory simulation. Discussion leaders (chairholders) either did or did not have first hand contact with an individual who was being assessed. Furthermore, chairholders were either allowed a formal say in the group's decision or were not. As predicted, different configurations of role requirements had an impact on the influence wielded by the chair, as indexed by measures of group process, group decision, accuracy and group member attitudes. Both prior contact and voting rights had direct and interactive effects and served to increase chair influence. Particular role requirement combinations also produced a type of group disruption as reflected in group member ratings of the quality of the session. The results of the study are discussed in forms of implications for the standardization of procedures in assessment center programs.