Legislative pressures are being brought to bear on South African employers to demonstrate that occupational assessment is scientifically valid and culture-fair. The development of valid and reliable performance-based assessment tools will enable employers to meet these requirements. The general aim of this research was to validate a performance-based assessment battery for the placement of sales representatives. A literature survey examined alternative assessment measures and methods of performance measurement, leading to the conclusion that the combination of the work sample as a predictor measure and the managerial rating of performance as a criterion measure offer a practical and cost-effective assessment process to the sales manager. The empirical study involved 54 sales persons working for the Commercial division of an oil marketing company, selling products and services to the commercial and industrial market. By means of the empirical study, a significant correlation was found between performance of sales representatives in terms of the performance-based assessment battery for the entry level of the career ladder and their behaviour in the field as measured by the managerial performance rating instrument. The limitations of the sample, however, prevent the results from being generalised to other organisations. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

The study examined the validity of using the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) as a tool for police selection. The mean CPI profile of 211 police applicants was first compared to that of the CPI norms. Five performance criterion measures--retention on the job, academy grades, supervisory ratings, commendations, and reprimands of police officers--were studied to investigate their relationships with the CPI scales. The results indicated that there were significant mean differences on all the CPI scales between police applicants and CPI norms. The scale of Flexibility significantly differentiated the criterion groups of retention on the job. The CPI was useful in predicting academy performance; however, it did not correlate well with job performance as measured by supervisory ratings, commendations, and reprimands.

This study examined the validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) as a predictor for police officer selection. The MMPI profiles of 212 police officer applicants selected to enter the training academy were compared to the standardized MMPI norms. Significant differences between the police officers and the normative population were found on all but two scales. When the average profile of officers still on the police force was compared with the average profile of terminated officers, two scales were significantly different. Significant correlations were obtained between four MMPI scales and the academy score criterion and two scales each for the commendation and supervisory rating criteria. A prediction equation was developed for academy score using multiple regression analysis.

An independent pilot study suggested that the Retail Employment Inventory (REI) might be predictive of subjectively and objectively measured Over the Road (OTR) truck driver performance. The present validation study consisted of three parts. First, an examination of the relationship between REI scores and 11 objective, performance criteria revealed weak and non-significant correlations. Second, a comparison of subjective ratings and REI scores failed to replicate the findings of the pilot study. And third, to confirm that the task components of the OTR job were correctly identified in the pilot study, a second job analysis was performed. Possible reasons for the failure of the REI to predict OTR performance and directions for future research are discussed.

In Texas, placement of educable mentally retarded (EMR) students has required three factors-- intellectual assessment, educational appraisal, and adaptive behavior. This study examined 28 reclassified EMR students to determine which assessment factor is least stable in defining EMR and to determine significance of change in assessment scores. Data were secured from school records. Type of intellectual assessment test used varied greatly and was found to be the most inconsistent placement factor. However, educational appraisal scores contributed to over half the reclassifications. Adaptive behavior did not contribute to any reclassification. Due to limited sampling and variety of assessment tests, significance of change in scores was not determined. Generally, on retest,performance IQ scores were elevated while verbal IQ scores remained the same.

The purposes of this study are: (1) to make a contribution to the increasingly urgent evaluation of an appropriate measure of the intellectual potential of South Texas Mexican-American children as studied through the community of Charlotte, Texas; (2) to gain some insight into the intellectual abilities of Mexican-American children of Charlotte, Texas when compared to the national norm; (3) to appraise the effects of bilingualism as it relates to the mental development of first through fourth grade children of Mexican- American parentage, particularly through the WISC from the standpoint of the language in which the test is given; (4) to ascertain the value of tangible (candy) and intangible (praise) reinforcement for each correct response yielded during the testing session.

The purpose of this study was to determine significant differences in test scores between LLD and MBI Special Education students. The records of thirty-seven LLD and fifty-six MBI students between the ages of six through eleven were obtained from a small Texas school district. The results indicated no significant differences between groups on WISC Full Scale, Performance and Verbal scales or on WISC subtests scores. No significant differences were found on WRAT scores. Significant differences were found on the Bender-Gestalt Test for Children and the Visual Aural Digit Span Test at the nine- through eleven-year level. No differences were found at the six- through eight-year level.

Psychological assessment ofjuveniles being considered for waiver to adult criminal courts often requires systematic evaluation of dangerousness, maturity-sophistication, and amenability to treatment (ATX). Despite the importance of these constructs to the evaluation of juveniles, little is known about the criteria that constitute these three constructs. This study was designed to assist in clarifying the constructs of dangerousness, maturity-sophistication, and ATX that typically guide juvenile transfers. Generally, prototypicality ratings were aligned with the current literature on dangerousness, sophistication-maturity, and ATX.

This is an examination of the predictive validity of two personality scales, the NEO PPI and the CRT-HR when administered to a sample of 595 Psychiatric Aide job applicants. The research design also tests the moderating advantages of two faking suppression techniques, the use of a lie scale and warning the test takers. The individual applicant profile provided by the screen was evaluated with criterion including turnover, performance, absenteeism and employee injury collected six months after employment began.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-04T18:29:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Eliana Santos de Farias.pdf: 1151108 bytes, checksum: d8a60100a4bf3e58e4d3db0ecf8a6ca5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-27 / The identification of students fitted and / or talent is characterized by a variety of possibilities. This identification may be multidimensional (areas, dimensions), multireferential (parents, teachers, psychologists and other staff), multi-method (methods, processes, tools), multi-temporal (time, stages of development), multi-contextual (tasks at school, at home and others), and multi-stage (stages or modules support). In this case, the figure of the teacher deserves, and effective participation through teacher nomination. In Brazil, there is no instrument with a favorable recommendation by the Federal Council of Psychology. Given this fact, the objective is to develop two studies, the first draw up a scale of appointing teachers for gifted and talented students as well as search for evidence of content validity, where as the second study, we sought evidence for the consistency of accuracy internal and validity based on internal structure and convergent and discriminant. After formulating the instrument (ENDI-p), the results of the first study indicate that the ENDI-p is ready for use, when looking at the kappa coefficient (km?dio= 0.778). The ENDI-p lost five items and had four items adapted to other areas other than the original. In the second study, by means of item-total correlation were removed 17 items from Endi-p showed that saturation index less than 0.30 (varimax rotation) which resulted in three major factors. With the removal of such items, the scale was a good value for the overall Cronbach's alpha (alfa= 0.801), but also for the three specific factors: F1 (alfa=0.892 with 23 items), F2 (alfa= 0.929 with 26 items), F3 (alfa= 0.727 with 7 items), given the goal 3. The Bartlett test of sphericity indicated a correlation between items (x2 0=4370,985; gl=1653; p<0,000). Since the measure of sampling adequacy for the application of factor analysis showed to be appropriate for the test of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO = 0.498). The fourth objective was met through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) resulting in three factors. Objectives 5 and 6, about the search for evidence of validity based on relationships with external variables were partially met, which may suggest, for future studies using a larger sample. / A identifica??o de alunos dotados e/ou talentosos caracteriza-se por uma diversidade de possibilidades. Esta identifica??o pode ser multidimensional (?reas, dimens?es), multireferencial (pais, professores, psic?logos e outros agentes), multi-m?todo (meios, processos, instrumentos), multi-temporal (momentos, est?gios do desenvolvimento), multi-contextual (tarefas na escola, em casa e outros) e, multi-et?pica (fases ou m?dulos de apoio). Neste processo, a figura do professor merece destaque, e efetiva sua participa??o por meio de nomea??o docente. No Brasil, ainda n?o existe instrumento com recomenda??o favor?vel pelo Conselho Federal de Psicologia. Diante deste fato, objetivou-se por desenvolver dois estudos, no primeiro elaborar uma escala de nomea??o docente para alunos dotados e talentosos, bem como buscar por evidencias de validade de conte?do; j? no segundo estudo, buscou-se por evidencias de precis?o da consist?ncia interna, bem como validade baseada na estrutura interna e convergente e discriminante. Depois de elaborado o instrumento (ENDI-p), os resultados do primeiro estudo indicam que a ENDI-p est? pronta para uso, ao se observar o coeficiente de kappa (km?dio=0,778). A ENDI-p perdeu cinco itens e teve quatro itens adaptados para outras ?reas, que n?o as originais. No segundo estudo, por meio da correla??o item-total foram retirados 17 itens da ENDI-p que apresentaram ?ndices de satura??o inferiores a 0,30 (rota??o varimax) o que resultou em tr?s grandes fatores. Com a extra??o destes itens, a escala apresentou um bom valor para o Alpha de Cronbach geral (alfa=0,801), como tamb?m para os tr?s fatores espec?ficos: F1 (alfa=0,892 com 23 itens), F2 (alfa=0,929 com 26 itens), F3 (alfa=0,727 com 7 itens), atendendo ao objetivo 3. O teste de esfericidade de Bartlett indicou correla??o entre os itens (x2 0=4370,985; gl=1653; p<0,000). J? a medida de adequa??o da amostra para aplica??o da an?lise fatorial apresentou-se apropriada pelo teste de Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO=0,498). O quarto objetivo foi atendido por meio da an?lise fatorial explorat?ria (AFE) resultando em tr?s fatores. Os objetivos 5 e 6, a respeito da busca de evidencias de validade baseadas nas rela??es com vari?veis externas foram parcialmente atendidos, o que pode sugerir, para futuros estudos utilizar uma amostra maior.