The present study attempted to identify common and unique characteristics of faculty performance appraisal formats and procedures by analyzing characteristics of formats and procedures from the psychology departments of 28 universities, including Kentucky Council on Post-secondary Education (CPE) benchmark schools for Western Kentucky University as well as schools that have Industrial/Organizational psychology master’s degree programs. It was hypothesized that schools with Industrial/-Organizational Psychology programs would have better formats as defined by eight legal factors. However, this hypothesis was not supported. The hypothesis that graphic rating scales would be the most common method for collecting appraisal data was supported. It was determined that the performance appraisal system used at Western Kentucky University is very similar to systems used at the CPE benchmark schools that participated in this study.

The MMPI-2 is the most commonly used self-report measure for the assessment of psychopathology in forensic and psychiatric disability assessments (Bacchiochi & Bagby, 2006; Bagby, Marshall, & Bacchiochi, 2005). The MMPI-2 includes a variety of validity scales designed to detect content responsive faking (e.g., faking good or faking bad) as well as content nonresponsivity (randomly responding). The present study was conducted to determine whether a combination of validity scales to detect malingering of a psychotic disorder in a non-compensatory model would be more or less effective than using only a select few of the validity scales in a compensatory model. The results supported the use of the specified validity scales (F, Fb, Fp, F – K, and FBS) in a non-compensatory model to identify correctly whether test takers faked their profiles. The results also supported the use of a smaller subset of the validity scales (Fp, F – K, and FBS) in a non-compensatory model to identify correctly whether test takers faked their profiles. The results, limitations of the current study, and future research considerations are then discussed.

The current study examined the influence of social cognitive variables on physical activity and proposed an intervention for an 8-week physical activity promotion program. Four specific components were examined: implementation intentions, goal commitment, barrier self-efficacy, and value. Participants included faculty and staff enrolled in a university Employee Wellness Program. Participants in the treatment group received goal-setting prompts focused on developing implementation intentions, identifying the value of outcome expectancies, and overcoming self-efficacy barriers. Participants in the control group did not receive goal-setting prompts. The use of goal-setting prompts did not result in significantly more minutes spent exercising. Overall, participants who received goal-setting prompts maintained their engagement in physical activity throughout the program, while participants in the control group steadily declined after week 5. For the treatment group, physical activity was dropping after the first week, but after receiving implementation-intentions prompts, physical activity increased. The use of implementation intentions should be further investigated. Additionally, the use of administering prompts throughout the complete program should be examined.

Assessment centers, although useful for assessing behaviors and competencies associated with a targeted construct, can be low in economic utility. The current study sought to validate a situational judgment test (SJT) that was developed as an alternate form of assessment for a leadership development program. The first study examined the content validity of the SJT by performing retranslation on item stems and calibration of the item responses. The second study examined alternate forms reliability between the two forms of the leadership SJT that were developed. The third and final study evaluated the relationship between assessment center performance scores and SJT scores by demonstrating their convergent validities. Results from Study 1 demonstrated that the SALSA© test was a content valid measure of leadership ability. Results from Study 2 demonstrated that all available items from SALSA© could be used to make two forms of the test that demonstrate good alternate forms reliability. Finally, Study 3 suggests a moderate correlation between the assessment center and situational judgment test. Future research should focus on the underlying issues pertaining to significant group differences between English as primary language and English as second language students. Alternate developmental procedures, especially with alternate form assignment, should also be considered.

Although training evaluation is understood as an important way of determining the effectiveness of a training program, additional research in the area of training transfer and core self-evaluations (CSE) could provide insight on measuring the effectiveness of training programs. Training transfer differences and CSE were examined in training courses offered in a workforce development program. The goals of the study were to: (1) evaluate the validity of using CSE as a means of predicting perceptions of transfer, (2) test the previous findings that utility reactions measures are a stronger predictor of transfer than affective reactions measures, (3) determine which type of enrollment format in the Career and Workforce Development program has higher transfer of training, (4) evaluate if CSE can predict different rates of learning, (5) determine if CSE correlates positively with affective and utility measures of reaction surveys, and (6) further examine the finding that utility measures positively correlate with knowledge gains. In order to do this, eight Western Kentucky University Career and Workforce Development training courses were evaluated. The study did not find support for any of the hypotheses. Possible reasons for this lack of support include a small sample size, a lack of responses to the transfer survey, the number of different courses evaluated, and characteristics of the training courses such as different trainers. Thus, additional research is needed in this area to better understand the nature of the relationships between CSE, perceptions of transfer, utility reactions, affective reactions, and training course knowledge gains.

As the number of women entering postsecondary education continues to increase (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014), universities will be tasked with ensuring that their pregnancy leave policies and practices are aligned with the principles of organizational justice. When organizations are aware of the perceptions of both decision makers and those affect by decisions, they are able to alter policies and practices in a way that promotes perceptions of fairness. The present study examines department head and faculty member perceptions of pregnancy leave practices in a university setting. This study is a replication/follow-up of two studies conducted in 2005 and 1995 on perceptions of pregnancy leave practices within a university setting. The results indicate that department heads and faculty members similarly perceive the fairness of options to cover a pregnant faculty member’s responsibilities. Department heads and faculty also rated their willingness to use an option similarly. Additionally, department heads are more willing to use options that they perceived as fair and are less likely to use options they perceived as unfair. The findings of this study indicate that it is important for those affected by decisions such as pregnancy leave practices to experience voice in the decision-making process. The results of this study should be useful to universities and department heads when determining how to cover the responsibilities of a faculty member on pregnancy leave.

Satisfying communication is sometimes hard to come by. Due to differences in social expression and reception, individuals tend to express and receive communication in dissimilar ways, especially within different social contexts. In the present study, the effects of personality and channel of communication on individual and mutual satisfaction after a conversation will be tested. Participants will take a personality test to determine introversion or extraversion. They will then be randomly assigned to conversation pairs which will communicate either through an instant messaging (IM) program or face-to-face (FtF). Satisfaction will be determined using a modified version of the Interpersonal Communication Satisfaction Inventory (ICSI). It is hypothesized that individual satisfaction will be significantly higher for introverts in the IM condition and extraverts in the FtF condition. With regards to mutual satisfaction, it is hypothesized that pairs with dissimilar personalities in the FtF condition will be significantly lower than all other pairings. Finally, it is expected that individuals with high ratings of satisfaction will also report feeling as though they were able to express themselves more authentically. The results of this study will contribute to our view of interpersonal relationships in the modern digital age, as well as present possibilities for creating more mutually beneficial communication between differing personality types.

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The current paper describes the concepts of emotional intelligence (EI) and physical attractiveness in relation to their impact on applicant evaluations. As EI has been shown to be linked to work outcomes including job performance, job satisfaction and interpersonal relationships, and as physical attractiveness has been found to influence rater decisions and perceptions of intellectual competence, an examination of these constructs in concert was the focus of the current study. Results found that, on average, attractive employees, older employees, and male employees were rated higher on several dimensions than their counterparts. There was no support for rater EI being linked to attractiveness- or age-related evaluation bias or for rater gender being related to attractiveness- or gender-related rating bias. However, results found that individuals with low EI were less consistent in their ratings, when job irrelevant information was disclosed versus undisclosed, than those with high EI. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

The development of Holocaust museums in the United States has created employment opportunities in Holocaust education. Paid staff and volunteers at Holocaust museums represent a distinct niche of professionals in these fields. This thesis explored personal perspectives and backgrounds of staff and volunteers, motivations for pursuing Holocaust education careers, translation of Holocaust information to visitors and student groups, and the role staff in different departments play alongside museum content. Employees and volunteers at two Holocaust museums participated in semi-structured interviews and open-ended survey questionnaires. The results from subsequently coded interviews and survey responses indicate that personal connections, through family, academic study, or other job positions, feelings of fulfillment at work, and passion for active translation and participation within the surrounding community were demonstrated by most employees and volunteers, especially those with high visitor interaction and engagement. Furthermore, perceptions of Holocaust museums as spaces of heaviness and solemnity, framed by the deaths of millions, were accepted but generally not related to the personal experience of Holocaust museum staff; thought Holocaust museums were created out of an event of mass death and destruction, the museums are spaces of life. Staff and volunteers at my research sites expressed feeling very fulfilled and inspired by the work they do as Holocaust educators.