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The article presents a study on the potential adverse impacts of the enforcement policies of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal organization which enforces the U.S. Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1991. Topics include the role of sample size in determining the statistical significance when measuring adverse impact; the effects of anti-discrimination policies in employment; and the use of Monte Carlo studies to assess group differences in EEO litigation.

This study developed criterion and construct validity evidence for polychronicity, which is the extent to which people prefer to be engaged in two or more tasks or activities at the same time. Hypothesized relationships between polychronicity and lateness, absence, and supervisory ratings of performance were developed and tested in a heterogenous field sample of 181 train operators. Results indicated that polychronicity was significantly related to absence (r = .25), lateness (r = .19), and supervisory performance ratings (r = -.17). Hypothesized Big Five personality dimensions (Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Neuroticism) were also significantly associated with absence, but not lateness. Specifically, absence was significantly related to Conscientiousness (r = -.23), Extraversion (r = .15), and Neuroticism (r = .19). In addition, polychronicity accounted for variance in absence and lateness beyond that accounted for by hypothesized Big Five personality dimensions, cognitive ability, and demographic characteristics. Future research directions for work on polychronicity are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the influence of redundant system in the engineering perspective on the performance of undergraduate students in the U.S. Direct linear relation between the number of the systems and safety; Adoption of a social psychological perspective; Effect of accountability on the performance in terms of quality and quantity of work.

Focuses on the business performance of the transportation industry. Selection of drivers; Improvement of public service; Evaluation on the behavior of the bus drivers.

Determines the effects of task complexity system on performance of a computer-based game. Influence of individual differences on the goal-performance relationship; Correlation between ability and task difficulty; Identification of the physiological response caused by difficult task.

Examines the relationship between job seniority and job performance. Impact of job seniority on the proficiency of employees; Superiority of employees working in a long period of time; Performance of senior employees.

An important concept that has gained the widespread attention of community mental health practitioners and researchers has been social support networks, and their role in help-seeking behavior and remediating personal distress. Despite the plethora of social support research in the last decade, several questions remain: Who are these natural providers of support and comfort? Where are they met? What is the relationship of network characteristics to the psychological well-being of the helped person? Are there gender and racial differences in answering these questions? To address these questions, randomly selected adults (n = 361) living in one of three suburban communities in southern California provided responses to a standardized measure of psychological distress, and also, named those persons on whom they depended when personal problems arose. Same-sex friends and members of the respondent's immediate family were cited most often as sources of social support. Respondents depended more often on women than on men, and on persons of similar age and racial background. Support providers were met most often in such public institutions as school, workplace, and church. Most network members were viewed as mutually dependent, seen on a daily basis, and were known 6 years or more. Of the network characteristics, only reciprocity was significantly and negatively related to personal distress. For nonwhites, the number of friends and neighbors named as network members was significantly and positively related to psychological distress, whereas for whites, the relationship was nonsignificant. Results are discussed in relation to social support research and the broader field of social psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attempts to successfully predict the point spread of National Football League games are viewed from the perspective of classical measurement theory. The hypothesis under investigation asserted that one factor limiting the valid predictions of the number of points scored by each team during games.is the low levels of reliability inherent in the potential predictor variables. Data for all 28 teams of the NFL were coIlected for each of the 16 weeks of the regularly scheduled 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons. Specific measures investigated included the number of points scored, the number of points yielded, the number of yards gained, and the number of yards yielded. These variables were then analyzed via Cronbach's alpha coefficient and other methods of assessing reliability. Results indicated that the a priori expectation of limited reliabilities was supported. The study discusses the implications of these results on traditional prediction strategies for both football specifically and psychological research in general, and offers an alternative approach to forecasting pro football games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is an updated survey examining individual assessor beliefs and practices related to faking in the individual assessment context. The responses from a mix of quantitative and qualitative survey questions were compared across individual assessors from the original 2005 sample (n = 77) and an updated 2020 sample (n = 78). Results suggest that single stimulus personality assessments are still the predominant form of personality assessment in use, but many individual assessors employ other types of personality assessments such as forced‐choice. In 2020, individual assessors do not appear to be heavily concerned about the effects of faking on their recommendations, do not believe that a large number of candidates fake, and believe that even fewer candidates successfully fake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An obituary for psychologist Frank Landy is presented.

Virtual reality (VR) is the three-dimensional digital representation of a real or imagined space with interactive capabilities. The application of VR for organizational training purposes has been surrounded by much fanfare; however, mixed results have been provided for the effectiveness of VR training programs, and the attributes of effective VR training programs are still unknown. To address these issues, we perform a meta-analysis of controlled experimental studies that tests the effectiveness of VR training programs. We obtain an estimate of the overall effectiveness of VR training programs, and we identify features of VR training programs that systematically produce improved results. Our meta-analytic findings support that VR training programs produce better outcomes than tested alternatives. The results also show that few moderating effects were significant. The applied display hardware, input hardware, and inclusion of game attributes had non-significant moderating effects; however, task-technology fit and aspects of the research design did influence results. We suggest that task-technology fit theory is an essential paradigm for understanding VR training programs, and no set of VR technologies is "best" across all contexts. Future research should continue studying all types of VR training programs, and authors should more strongly integrate research and theory on employee training and development. • We perform a meta-analysis of controlled experimental studies that assesses VR programs for education and training. • VR programs produce better outcomes than tested alternatives. • Few moderating effects were significant, including the display hardware, input hardware, and inclusion of game elements. • The task-technology fit of the VR training program, however, was a very strong moderator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals' perceptions of work contexts are influenced by factors at both the individual level and the contextual level. However, methodological considerations have often resulted in researchers choosing a single level of analysis when studying perceptions of work environments. The current study investigated individual and contextual influences on teachers' satisfaction within school districts. Hierarchical Linear Models were proposed as a useful method for simultaneously assessing variation in perceptions of community support at two levels of analysis. Perceptions of support were found to vary systematically at both the individual and the organizational level. Hypotheses about different predictors of teacher perceptions at both levels of analysis and mediation across levels were supported. Implications for the assessment of employee perceptions in organizations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined gender bias on job performance in work settings where confounding variables (e.g., organizational level, experience, education) were cautiously taken into consideration to ensure fair comparisons. Although previous meta-analyses examined gender biases on evaluations, findings in tightly controlled laboratory environments may differ from those in highly complicated field studies. We found little evidence of overall gender bias in performance appraisals in nonconfounded field studies. However, there were significant pro-male biases when only men served as raters. Measure-specific gender stereotypicality, instead of general stereotypicality about the job, produced gender bias in performance appraisal. Masculine measures produced pro-male bias, and feminine measures produced pro-female bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the utility concepts in performance appraisal. Difficulty faced by personnel psychologists in applying utility concepts to personnel decision strategies; Obstacles to the acceptance of the concept; Extension of the utility logic to cover other areas of personnel.

Three formats (I, behavioral expectation scales; II, checklist; and III, graphic rating), each with an underlying behavioral expectation frame of reference, were compared for their variations in performance evaluation results. In addition, the effect of different scoring systems, for the same set of data, on the evaluation results were examined. Students (I, N = 50; II, N = 48; and III, N = 43) evaluated an instructor on forms which were developed by utilizing data generated in the Harari and Zedeck (1973) study. Results indicated that conclusions with respect to performance evaluation can be a function of response format or scoring system. Implications of these results with respect to their effect on the traditional response biases of halo and leniency are offered along with methods for their assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined differences in the psychometric scale properties of scores from a personality inventory as a function of cognitive ability when administered in low-stakes (incumbent employees; N = 1108) vs. high-stakes (job applicants; N = 79,339) testing contexts. Based on the idea that applicant response distortion increases trait score means and covariance and that cognitive ability is related to successful distortion, mean scores and loadings on a bifactor model were compared across groups that differed in motivation and ability to distort responses on the personality inventory. Results indicated that mean trait scores and loadings on a common factor were higher for the applicants than the incumbents. In addition, there was a positive linear trend relating cognitive ability to increases in scale scores and common factor loadings in the applicant sample; the observed changes in structure are a noted departure from what has often been found with regard to the differentiation of personality by intelligence hypothesis. Implications are discussed in terms of use of personality inventories in personnel selection contexts. • High-stakes testing context led to higher trait score means and loadings on a common factor. • Cognitive ability was associated with shifts in means and loadings on common factor. • High-stakes testing context resulted in changes in structure of scores on personality inventory. • Faking by job applicants threatens construct validity of personality tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]