Showing papers in "Journal of Applied Psychology in 1979"

Consequences of individual feedback on behavior in organizations.

Abstract: The literature on feedback to individuals was reviewed with respect to its effect on the behavior of individuals in performance-o riented organizations. Although contemporary views of individual behavior in organizations stress that feedback is necessary for effective role performance, little attention is given to the psychological processes affected by it. This review focuses upon the multidimensional nature of feedback as a stimulus and addresses the process by which feedback influences behavior. Emphasis is placed on those aspects of feedback that influence (a) the way it is perceived, (b) its acceptance by the recipient, and (c) the willingness of the recipient to respond to the feedback. Feedback about the effectiveness of an individual's behavior has long been recognized as essential for learning and for motivation in performance-oriented organizations. Not surprisingly, considerable research has been conducted on the subject (see reviews of feedback by Adams, 1968; Ammons, 19S6; Annett, 1969; Bilodeau, 1966; Locke, Cartledge, & Koeppel, 1968; Sassenrath, 1975). Yet, in spite of the large and varied literature, generalizations about the effects of feedback on individuals are few. Several factors contribute to this state of affairs. First, feedback is not a simple stimulus. The diverse elements subsumed under the single rubric of feedback may share the property of conveying some degree of information about past behavior, but they share We wish to thank L. L. Cummings, H. P. Dachler, E. A. Locke, M. M. Greller, D. M. Herold, and J. C. Naylor for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. The research was supported by Grant DAHC 19-76-G-0017 from the Army Research Institute for the Behavioral Sciences, as part of the technical-base research project for the Organizational Development Unit. While the support of the agency is greatly appreciated, the ideas expressed in the article are solely those of the authors and are not to be considered the position of the agency or the U.S.

Impact of valid selection procedures on work-force productivity.

Abstract: Decision theoretic equations were used to estimate the impact of a valid test (the Programmer Aptitude Test; PAT) on productivity if it were used to select new computer programmers for one year in (a) the federal government and (b) the national economy. A newly developed technique was used to estimate the standard deviation of the dollar value of employee job performance, which in the past has been the most difficult and expensive item of required information to estimate. For the federal government and the U.S. economy, separately, results are presented for different selection ratios and for different assumed values for the validity of previously used selection procedures. The impact of the PAT on programmer productivity was substantial for all combinations of assumptions. The results support the conclusion that hundreds of millions of dollars in increased productivity could be realized by increasing the validity of selection decisions in this occupation. Likely similarities between computer programmers and other occupations are discussed. It is concluded that the impact of valid selection procedures on work-force productivity is considerably greater than most personnel psychologists have believed.

Accuracy, confidence, and juror perceptions in eyewitness identification.

Abstract: Subjects of both sexes individually witnessed the staged theft of a calculator. The 127 witnesses were then given the opportunity to identify the thief from a six-person picture array; from this sample, 24 accurate-iden tification witnesses and 18 inaccurate-id entification witnesses were cross-examined with either leading or nonleading questions. Jurors were unable to distinguish accurate from inaccurate witnesses across the 42 cross-examina tion sessions (d' = .02). However, jurors in the leading-questions conditions were significantly more likely to believe accurate than inaccurate witnesses (

Job Enrichment Versus Social Cues: A Comparison and Competitive Test

Abstract: Forty-one part-time student employees were randomly assigned in a 2 X 2 factorial research design including 2 types of social cues and 2 levels of job enrichment to investigate the effects of the independent variables on perceptions of job enrichment, job ambiguity, job satisfaction, and productivity. All employees worked in a simulated organizational setting involving a routine clerical task. The results showed that both the cues given off by co-workers as well as the physical properties of the task have an effect on employee perceptions of job enrichment and job ambiguity. In addition, people receiving positive social cues from co-workers were more satisfied and more productive than people receiving negative social cues from co-workers. These results are discussed in terms of their relevance for current theories of job motivation. Job enrichment has become an increasingly important issue in both the empirical and practical literature about the quality of work life in America. It is argued that job enrichment will increase commitment and satisfaction as well as the productivity of employees (e.g., Hackman & Oldham, 1975; Herzberg, 1966). These benefits supposedly result from increased levels of certain job characteristics such as task variety, task identity, significance of the job, job autonomy, and feedback (Hackman & Lawler, 1971; Hackman & Oldham, 197,6; Turner & Lawrence, 1965). It is also argued that these effects are strongest for those individuals who have high needs for achievement and growth (Oldham, Hackman, & Pearce, 1976; Steers & Spencer, 1977; Stone, Mowday, & Porter, 1977). Thus, job enrichment, when properly applied, may be

Eyewitness accounts of females and males.

Abstract: In two experiments, college students looked at a series of slides depicting a wallet snatching (Experiment 1) or a fight (Experiment 2) and then took a multiple-choice test of accuracy for the details of that incident. One day later, they read a version of the incident that for some of them contained misleading information about certain objects in the scene. Finally, a test was administered to measure the extent to which the misleading information was incorporated into the subject's recollections. The major results of interest concerned sex differences: Women were more accurate and more resistant to suggestion about female-oriented details, whereas men were more accurate and resistant to suggestion about male-oriented details. This result is related to the general tendency for accuracy on a specific item to lead to an improved ability to resist a suggestion about that specific item. Additional analyses indicated that overall accuracy was neither related to intelligence (as measured by a college entrance test) nor to specific abilities, such as verbal or spatial ability.

Use of the position analysis questionnaire for establishing the job component validity of tests.

Abstract: : The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) is a structured job analysis questionnaire that provides for analysis of individual jobs in terms of each of 187 job elements. On the basis of a series of principal components analyses of PAQ data a number of job dimensions were identified. Scores for jobs on these job dimensions were used as the basis for predicting test-related criterion values of incumbents on jobs, these studies employing data from the 9 tests of the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) of the U.S. Employment Service. In other studies, 'attribute profiles' of the job elements of the PAQ were used as predictors of the test-related criterion values. The use of PAQ job dimension scores and the attribute profile data indicate substantial potential for using a structured job analysis procedure (such as the PAQ) to derive reasonably valid estimates of aptitude requirements of jobs. This generalized approach has been referred to as job component validity. The present research is directed toward further testing of the use of the PAQ for the purpose of establishing the job component validity of tests, except that it uses the prediction of test-related criterion values based on commercially- available tests, as contrasted with those based on GATB tests.

A note on recruiting sources and job survival rates.

Abstract: Several recruiting sources for obtaining new workers used by an insurance company, a bank, and a professional abstracting service were compared in terms of their relationship to later job survival. Types of jobs studied included clerical, managerial, professional, and sales. Significant differences were found among the various recruiting sources in their relationship to later employee turnover. These findings are consistent with previous empirical results and suggest the importance of the area for further research. The empirical relationship between recruiting source and subsequent tenure with an organization has been investigated and reported in two separate articles (Gannon, 1971; Reid, 1972). The results suggest that applicants referred through informal methods (e.g., recommended by friends, relatives, or other employees) tend to remain with the organization longer than applicants recruited by means of formal methods (e.g., newspaper advertising and employment agencies). The purpose of this study was to test the generalizability of the findings from the Gannon and Reid studies to samples of employees collected several years later in order to assess the desirability of further psychological investigation of this phenomenon.