Showing papers in "Personnel Psychology in 1980"

Psychometric properties of self-appraisals of job performance

Abstract: This paper reviews literature of psychometric properties of self-appraisals of work performance. It summarizes evidence of leniency, variability, halo, bias, and construct validity. Comparisons with appraisals by supervisors, peers, and subordinates suggest that self-appraisals tend to show more leniency, less variability, and less discriminant validity. Different factor structures have been found among self, supervisor and peer-ratings. On the other hand, self-appraisals showed less halo. Self-appraisals were significantly correlated with other sources in some studies and failed to correlate in many others. Existing data do not allow any conclusion whether the quality of self-appraisals is a function of scale format, amount or rater training, type of judgment, or purpose of appraisal. The effects of the observed psychometric qualities of self-appraisals on various applications are discussed. Problems may exist when they are used for administrative decision making, diagnosis of training needs, applied criterion measurement, measurement of constructs in basic research, or for selection purposes.

Perceived job characteristics and job satisfaction: an examination of reciprocal causation

Abstract: The following four assumptions were tested (a) satisfaction with job/task events and perceptions of job challenge, autonomy, and importance are direct, reciprocal causes of each other; (b) job perceptions are also caused directly by situation attributes, although perceptual distortions resulting for individual dispositions must also be considered; (c) job satisfaction is also cognitively consistent with (i.e., caused by) individual dispositions, although these individual dispositions are generally different from those associated with job perceptions; and (d) individuals reply on job perceptions, and not situational attributes, for information in formulating job satisfaction attitudes. The assumptions are tested on a sample of nonsupervisory subjects (n= 642) from divergent work environments (e.g., production-lines and a computer software department). A nonrecursive, structural equation analysis, combined with tests of logical consistency, supported the assumptions above. The results were employed to recommend changes in current perspectives regarding perceptual/affective dichotomies and unidirectional causal models and moderator models that link job perceptions to job satisfaction.

Individual reactions to organizational recruiting: a review

Abstract: The present paper reviews the research that has examined the influence of organizational recruiting on applicants' attitudes and job choice behaviors. It was found that recruiting representatives, administrative practices, and procedures used to evaluate applicant qualifications are all potentially important influences on job seeker attitudes and behaviors. However, limitations of the existing research necessitate caution in the interpretation of findings. Of particular concern is the likely generalizability of results presented here to all job seekers. The review concludes with recommendations for the conduct of subsequent recruiting research.

Expectations of behaviorally anchored rating scales

Abstract: Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) are reviewed from two perspectives. First, the particular BARS methodology is assessed on the basis of its fulfilling three broad categories of “criteria for criteria:” (1) utilization criteria, (2) qualitative criteria, and (3) quantitative or psychometric criteria. These three broad categories are composed of 14 specific criteria by which performance evaluation methodologies can be assessed. The second perspective involves an evaluation of BARS in terms of psychometric criteria but with the literature broken down into studies concerned with (1) development of BARS, (2) utilization of BARS, (3) comparison of BARS to other methods, and (4) rater training in BARS use. Conclusions from these reviews indicate that BARS is no better or worse than other methods when assessed on a quantitative basis whereas it has greater potential when assessed on the utilization and qualitative criteria. Suggestions are offered for extending BARS research to process questions and to domains other than performance appraisal perse

Determinants and Behavioral Consequences of Pay Satisfaction: A Comparison of Two Models.

Abstract: Models of determinants of pay satisfaction proposed by Lawler and by Dyer and Theriault are examined. The basic proposition of Lawler's model is found to explain only a moderate amount of pay satisfaction; a better conceptualization of Lawler's proposition is proposed. Dyer and Theriault add pay administration variables to Lawler's model and this expanded model is found to account for more pay satisfaction variance and to better predict consequences (turnover, absenteeism and pro-union attitudes) of pay dissatisfaction.

An investigation of user acceptance of peer evaluations.

Abstract: Peer evaluations show promise as valid, reliable measures of performance, but users' resistance to peer evaluations may limit their use. This study investigated employees' acceptance of the practice of peer ratings, and factors related to this acceptance. Subjects were 174 faculty of a university where faculty peer evaluations had been practiced for six years. Results indicated a relatively low degree of user acceptance of the practice of peer evaluations. Six factors of peer evaluations and their users were hypothesized as relating to user acceptance. Correlational and multiple regression analyses indicated strong support for the relationship between user acceptance and two factors: perceived friendship bias and perceived feedback value. Perceived validity of peer ratings, perceived effects on morale, and satisfaction with previous peer ratings were positively but not uniquely correlated with user acceptance. There was no evidence of a relation between previous peer ratings and user acceptance. These findings were discussed in terms of implications for policy changes which might increase user acceptance of peer evaluations.

Leader Behavior and Subordinate Motivation.

Abstract: This study examines the impact of managerial behavior on several variables reflecting constructs felt to be important to understanding subordinate motivation. Data from a sample of 231 professionals and 15 assistant managers employed in the production department of a large information processing organization were found to support the role of supervisor behaviors in influencing effort expenditure, the perception of organizational contingencies, and most facets of job satisfaction. Supervisor behaviors were also related to job performance as well.

THE VALIDITY and FAIRNESS OF EMPLOYMENT and EDUCATIONAL TESTS FOR HISPANIC AMERICANS: A REVIEW and ANALYSIS

Abstract: This study examined the questions of whether employment and educational tests demonstrate either differential validity or test unfairness to Hispanic Americans relative to the majority group. Relevant data from 19 published and unpublished studies formed the basis of the review and analysis. Results for employment tests, based on a very large amount of data, indicated that differential validity occurs no more frequently than would be expected on the basis of chance plus the operation of various statistical artifacts. The frequencies of slope and intercept differences between Hispanic and majority regressions were also within the chance range. A similar pattern of results obtained for the more limited amount of data available on educational tests. Taken together, the results provide strong evidence that tests are neither differentially valid for, nor unfair to, Hispanics. These findings are consistent with the results of previous studies of test validity and fairness for blacks.

Social Influence and Intent to Leave: A Path-Analytic Process Model.

Abstract: A path-analytic social influence process model of intent to leave was formulated using five social power variables, two leader behavior dimensions, group cohesiveness, and job satisfaction. It was tested in Design and Construction bureaus in a large midwestern state highway department. Three significant process relationships were found to occur in both bureaus: (1) social power affected leader behavior; (2) group cohesiveness affected job satisfaction; and (3) job satisfaction affected intent to leave. Two important non-significant findings also emerged in both bureaus: (1) leader behavior did not affect intent; and (2) group cohesiveness did not affect intent. In addition to these general findings there were a number of process differences between bureaus. Limitations and implications of this social influence process model are discussed.

Characteristics of women in traditional and non-traditional managerial roles

Abstract: This study investigated characteristics which distinguish women who choose traditional as opposed to non-traditional careers and who function at differing occupational levels. 156 nurses represented the traditional sample, and 147 women in business and industrial positions in which 20% or fewer of the job incumbents were female comprised the non-traditional career group. The women were matched according to age and education across three occupational levels. It was determined that women as a group in non-traditional business roles as compared to the traditionals were more achieving, emphasized production more, saw themsleves as having characteristics more like managers and men, and saw no self-characteristics which conflicted with those ascribed to male managers. The business women considered the domestic role as less important, had fewer children, and fewer children living at home, than did the nurses. The two groups did not differ in their attitude toward the importance of their careers, their perceptions of their husband's attitudes, nor in the education level of their spouse and parents. These findings lead to the conclusion that leadership attributes and behavior of women do vary between organizational settings and across occupational levels in predictable ways.

A Test of the Path-Goal Theory of Leadership and Some Suggested Directions for Future Research.

Abstract: Several hypotheses on the moderating effect of task structure from Path-Goal leadership theory were tested in a large public utility. No support was found for the moderating effect of task structure, despite multiple analyses and large and statistically significant differences in moderator variables: instrumental leadership obtained few significant correlations with criteria regardless of task structure, and supportive leadership was strongly related to criteria at all levels of task structure. Based on these results and theoretical considerations, suggestions are made for modification of the manner in which the theory has generally been tested, and for attention to specific testing of several assumptions upon which the theory is based.

Research in the "real world": A conceptual model.

Abstract: Research in Industrial/Organizational Psychology has been primarily based on a traditional model of scientific inquiry developed as an outgrowth of research in the physical sciences. The premise of this paper is that this traditional model of research frequently does not fit the realities of applied I/O research in “real world” settings and, when pursued exclusively, operates to limit progress in the field. An alternative research model, based on the realities of “what is,” rather than on the ideal of “what should be” is proposed, and examples of lines of inquiry where this alternative model might have utility are provided. The traditional and alternative models are viewed as mutually supportive and jointly capable of producing advances in I/O psychology which cannot be achieved by either method in isolation.

The Future of Criterion-Related Validity.

Abstract: As a result of rejection by personnel psychologists of the erroneous law of small numbers and of the adoption of correct inferential procedures, the future of criterion-related validity promises to be bright. Probable future developments include: (a) widespread appreciation of the low statistical power characteristic of small samples; (b) rejection of the traditional belief that validities are situationally specific; (c) widespread validity generalization based on new methods; (d) research demonstrations that rational estimates of validity are often superior in accuracy to empirical estimates; (e) widespread acceptance of research findings showing that single-group and differential validity by race are artifactual rather than substantive in origin and that test unfairness by race is a nonproblem; (f) increased application of decision-theoretic dollar utility analyses to selection programs; and (g) progress in the establishment of general principles and theories about trait-performance relations in the world of work.

Effects of higher order need strength on the job performance–job satisfaction relationship

Abstract: This study examines the moderating effects of employee higher order need strength (HONS) on the relationship between job performance and job satisfaction. Data were collected from a sample of 123 non-supervisory employees in a large retail-drug organization in the Midwest. Moderated regression and subgroup analyses were performed on the data, and the results provide support for the moderating role of HONS. Specifically, job performance is positively related to intrinsic as well as extrinsic sources of job satisfaction for strong HONS individuals while no such relation is found for individuals with weak HONS. Implications for work motivation and task design are discussed.

Selection interviewing in the life insurance industry: an update of research and practice

Abstract: Over the past decade, the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association has been researching and implementing the use of structured selection interviews in the agent selection process. The practical problems encountered during this period are reviewed, and studies of the most recent interview guide are presented. These studies are based on interview evaluations made by 270 managers in interview training sessions, as well as field managers’evaluations of 163 applicants in actual agent selection situations. The results indicate that it is possible for managers to agree on their evaluation ratings of an applicant, that there is a stable factorial structure for the ratings, and that the ratings are related to the selection decision although not all items carry the same weight. The implications of these results for the use of structured selection interviews and for further research are discussed.

Introductory remarks for the symposium “organizational applications of self-appraisal and self-assessment: another look”.

Abstract: The symposium, “Organizational Applications of Self-Appraisal and Self-Assessment: Another Look”, is introduced with the notion that the self-concept and self-reports have again assumed a centrally important role in psychological research and theory. A recent paper by Bandura concerning the self-system in reciprocal determinism is discussed as an illustration of this notion, and as a possible foundation for applied research yet to be conducted on the self-evaluation process. Bandura's framework is amplified slightly for use in the applied context by adding the concept of self-report. Although Bandura's ideas are not dealt with by the other panelists in this symposium, this discussion of them will hopefully spur research and thinking on process, in conjunction with outcome, issues. Finally, the concepts of self-appraisal and self-assessment are contrasted.

Dimensions of work outcomes: a multidimensional scaling approach

Abstract: There exists a need for basic research on the nature of work outcomes, to facilitate integration of theory and results and to aid in the sampling of outcomes for research and evaluation. Existing research, primarily using factor analysis, has led to a hierarchical model, with numerous sub-factors grouped under the major factors of “intrinsic” and “extrinsic.” Recent research, however, has shown that industrial/organizational psychologists do not agree on the definition of intrinsic and extrinsic. It is argued that a more useful approach is a dimensional model, which allows each work outcome to be described by a set of values on multiple dimensions. A multidimensional scaling analysis of 21 outcomes yields a latent structure with three dimensions: value attached to the outcome by society, level of psychological need met, and extent to which the outcome is inherent in the work itself. Implications for the sampling of outcomes and integration of different literature are discussed. The results suggest that a multidimensional model of work outcomes is more useful than a categorical approach built on the intrinsic/extrinsic dichotomy.

Applications of moderated regression in job design research

Abstract: Applications of moderated regression analysis in five areas of job design research are described and fully illustrated with actual survey data. The five areas of research have received some attention in the literature over the past 10 years. Arguments for the selection of moderated regression over the more common subgroups analysis are presented. We conclude that moderated regression analysis is superior to a subgroups analysis for the research questions being asked by investigators interested in job design research.

Work environment effects on public sector grievances

Abstract: This study examines employee grievances filed in two unionized public sector organizations that differ markedly in their respective work environments. A total of 353 grievances were filed under seven articles of the labor contract. Statistically significant differences were found between the two organizations in terms of the issues of the labor contract that were grieved. Similarly, statistically significant differences in grieved issues were found among employees working at three sub-divisions of the same organization. The results are discussed in the context of work environment effects on grievances, and the replicability of the findings to previous research on grievances in private sector industrial organizations.

Variability in Common Dimensions of Managerial Values due to Value Orientation and Country Differences.

Abstract: This study identifies twelve common dimensions of values of managers in five countries, describes the content of the value dimensions identified, and locates the differences in these value dimensions due to value orientation and country effects and their interaction. Value orientation and country differences account for a substantial portion of the variance in six of the dimensions. The results extend studies of managers' values to underlying dimensions and provide directions for future research on the correlates of value dimensions.

Obtaining Valid Predictors by Minimizing Rating Errors in the Criterion.

Abstract: The correlations between each of five predictors and supervisory ratings of job effectiveness were not significantly different from zero. On the basis of the job analysis that preceded the validation study, the author concluded that the low correlations between each of the five predictors and the criterion were not due to problems inherent in either the tests or the performance appraisal instrument. Rather, it was hypothesized that the low correlations were a result of rating errors made by supervisors. The results of an eight hour training program (Latham, Wexley, and Pursell, 1975) designed to minimize rating errors supported this hypothesis. Four of the five predictors correlated significantly with the performance ratings that were conducted after the supervisors had received the training.

The World of Nonwork: Some Implications for Job Re-Design Efforts.

Abstract: The compensatory and spillover models of adjustment to work are described. Data from a pharmaceutical firm and two different research and development organizations are examined to illustrate the operation of these two models. Evidence of both the compensatory and spillover models were found for several different groups of workers. Furthermore, some groups of workers displayed complex combinations of both compensatory and spillover adjustments to their work experiences. Implications of these results for job re-design efforts are described.

Self-assessment: a critical analysis

Abstract: A critical analysis is provided of self-assessment (SA) as an area of investigation. It is argued that there are numerous deficiencies in SA work pertaining to theoretical foundations, measurement, and behavioral focus. Several suggestions are made for advancing the nature and scope of SA theory and research.

A Mathematical Structure for Analyzing Fairness in Selection.

Abstract: A model for examining tradeoffs between rate of minority hiring and quality of selectees is presented. Each case is to be defined in terms of the selection ratio, the relation of outcome to predictor within each group, and other parameters. It is shown that, in a representative case, substantial changes in the rate of minority hiring have only small effects on the quality of the work force. How changes in this rate affect indices of adverse impact and other aspects of fairness is also examined.

Self-Assessments of Five Types of Typing Ability.

Abstract: The potential usefulness of self-assessments of typing ability were examined from a personnel selection perspective. A sample of 156 “business ready”, Phoenix area high school students estimated their abilities to type each of the following types of materials in units of net words per minute: 1. straight copy 2. letters 3. revised manuscript 4. numbers 5. tables. The students then took the analogous portions of the Typing Test for Business, Self-assessment of straight copy typing ability emerged as the best predictor of tested typing ability of all types. Because of the substantial number of minority students in the sample (N= 69, 44.2%), differential prediction was studied. Self-assessments of revised manuscript, numbers, and tables typing abilities were significantly higher for the majority group than for the minority group. Typing test performance was significantly higher for the majority group across straight copy, letters, revised manuscript, and tables subtests. Minority group members were generally less accurate in self-assessment of their typing ability. Subgroup regression lines were compared by means of Potthoff's analysis, and subgroup differences in prediction of tested typing ability from self-assessments of typing ability were found.

The Use of Self-Assessments in Examining.

Abstract: Self-assessments combined with other evidences such as achievements and test scores lead to increased accuracy and fairness in examining. The use of self-ratings to evaluate an applicant requires adjustment for degree of understanding of the element to be rated and for applicant's subjective base for rating. However, raw ratings may be used for psychometric analysis. Since minorities are usually represented in significant numbers among applicants but not in employed groups, this kind of analysis appears promising for studies designed to reduce adverse impact of tests and other measuring devices. An initial exploratory example of such analysis is described in detail.

Leader Influence in the Assessment of Performance.

Abstract: 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.