A. Ralph Hakstian

The revised Psychopathy Checklist: Reliability and factor structure.

The revised Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) is a 20-item scale scored from interview and file information. Analyses of data from 5 prison samples (N= 92 5) and 3 forensic psychiatric samples (N= 356) indicate that the revised PCL resembles its 22-item predecessor in all important respects. It has excellent psychometric properties, and it measures 2 correlated factors that were cross-validated both within and between samples. Correlations between the original PCL and the revised version approached unity for both the factors and the full scale. We conclude that the revised PCL measures the same construct as the original and that the PCL is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of psychopathy in male forensic populations.

The Behavior Of Number-Of-Factors Rules With Simulated Data

issues related to the decision of the number of factors to retain in factor analysis are identified, and three widely-used decision rules -- the Kaiser-Guttman, scree, and likelihood ratio tests -- are isolated for empirical study. Using two differing structural models and incorporating a number of relevant independent variables (such as number of variables, ratio of number of factors to number of variables, variable communality levels, and factorial complexity), the authors simulated 144 population data sets and, then, from these, 288 sample data sets, each with a precisely known (or incorporated) number of factors. The Kaiser-Guttman and scree rules were applied to the population data in Part I of the study, and all three rules were applied to the sample data sets in Part II. Overall trends and interactive results, in terms of the independent variables examined, are discussed in detail, and methods are presented for assessing the quality of the number-of-factors indicated by a particular rule.

A k-sample significance test for independent alpha coefficients

The earlier two-sample procedure of Feldt [1969] for comparing independent alpha reliability coefficients is extended to the case ofK ≥ 2 independent samples. Details of a normalization of the statistic under consideration are presented, leading to computational procedures for the overallK-group significance test and accompanying multiple comparisons. Results based on computer simulation methods are presented, demonstrating that the procedures control Type I error adequately. The results of a power comparison of the case ofK=2 with Feldts [1969]F test are also presented. The differences in power were negligible. Some final observations, along with suggestions for further research, are noted.

The Nature and Measurement of Emotional Intelligence Abilities: Basic Dimensions and Their Relationships with Other Cognitive Ability and Personality Variables.

Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence (EI) were derived, and their place with respect to the cognitive ability and personality domains was examined. A factor analysis of 24 maximum-performance and self-report EI measures administered to an undergraduate sample (N= 176) yielded five factors: Emotional Congruence, Emotional Independence, Social Perceptiveness, Alexithymia, and Social Confidence. Emotional Congruence had lowcorrelations with four cognitive ability factors and Big Five personality factors, indicating that it may represent either a new psychological construct or a method factor. Social Perceptiveness correlated significantly with cognitive abilities, indicating its place in this domain. The remaining three factors had moderate correlations with various personality dimensions and low correlations with cognitive abilities, indicating that they fall outside the latter domain. On the basis of the present results, only maximum-performance and not self-report measures of EI can be seen as tapping the cognitive ability domain.

An empirical taxonomy of visual illusions

A classification system for visual-geometric illusions, based upon the interrelationships between behavioral responses to various distortions was created. Forty-five illusion configurations were presented to 221 observers. Factor analysis revealed that there are five classes of illusions. A secondorder analysis revealed that visual distortions are ultimately reducible to two global types of distortions: illlusions of extent and illusions of shape or direction.

A situation-specific model for smoking behavior.

Abstract Ratings of common cigarette smoking situations were analyzed to develop a model of smoking behavior consistent with behavioral intervention techniques. Mean intensity of urge was rated for each of 63 smoking situations by 177 males and 154 females drawn from the general population. Multivariate analyses of the data revealed distinct response patterns for males and females. Factor analyses for each sex yielded a relatively large number of homogeneous factors. In general, the results suggest a more varied and differentiated pattern of smoking than has been suggested previously. It is argued that this model of smoking behavior may be able to provide a basis for tailoring smoking modification procedures to individual reasons for smoking.

The Measurement and Prediction of Managerial Creativity

The relations between creative management performance and constructs from the cognitive ability and personality domains were explored. A new openness scale and measures of divergent thinking and general intelligence were correlated with independently obtained criterion assessments of creative-management performance for 221 managers from a variety of organizations. Divergent thinking and openness correlated significantly with key creative-management criteria. General intelligence correlated only marginally with the criteria, and when divergent thinking was statistically removed, not at all. Divergent thinking, conversely, retained its significant criterion correlations with general intelligence statistically removed. Finally, a predictive composite of both divergent thinking and openness is shown to provide solid prediction of managerial creativity and significant utility in a personnel selection context.

Relative endurance of unipolar depression treatment effects: longitudinal follow-up.

This study represents a 2.25-year follow-up to a treatment study reported earlier (McLean & Hakstian, 1979) in which 121 unipolar depressed outpatients were treated by either (a) nondirective psychotherapy, (b) behavior therapy, (c) pharmacotherapy, or (d) relaxation therapy. A nondepressed, normal control group was evaluated on the same 28 measures and 6 intervals for contrast purposes. Behavior therapy patients alone were significantly improved in the areas of mood, personal productivity, and social activity, relative to treatment control patients over the follow-up period. Also, twice as many behavior therapy patients (i.e., 64%) fell within one standard deviation of the normal, nondepressed control group distribution on depressed mood, compared with non-directive psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy patients, when scores were aggregated across the 6 assessment points.

Improving salesforce performance: A meta‐analytic investigation of the effectiveness and utility of personnel selection procedures and training interventions

Research on the effectiveness in improving salesforce performance through personnel selection procedures and training interventions was examined by meta-analytic techniques applied with 157 predictor-criterion effect sizes involving selection procedures and 12 effect sizes involving training interventions. Significant effect sizes, on average, were obtained for (a) composite-domain assessment against both subjective (ratings) and objective (sales performance) criteria, (b) single-domain assessment against both criterion types, and (c) training interventions with respect to both criterion types combined. Significant variability was found among individual effect sizes within all categories of aggregation. Of the six specific categories of single-domain assessment considered, five yielded significant validity for each of the two criterion types. Follow-up utility analyses revealed improvements in sales productivity of from 14.8% to 34.1% for selection procedures and of 23.1% for training. Associated dollar-based utility estimates indicated particularly substantial dollar gains for organizations employing composite-domain selection with rigorous selection ratios, and lesser, but still substantial, gains from single-domain selection with rigorous selection ratios, and from training interventions.

A Further Comparison of Oblique Factor Transformation Methods.

Four prominent oblique transformation techniques—promax, the Harris-Kaiser procedure, biquartimin, and direct oblimin—are examined and compared. Additionally, two newly-developed procedures, falling into the category designated as Case III by Harris and Kaiser [1964], are presented and included in the comparisons. The techniques are compared in light of their freedom from bias in the interfactor correlations, and their ability to yield clear simple structures, over many data sets—some constructed and some “real”—varying widely in terms of number of variables and factors, factorial complexity, and clarity of the hyperplanes. Results are discussed, and implications for practice are noted.