Dan Ispas

A Meta-Analytic Investigation of the Relationship Between State Affect, Discrete Emotions, and Job Performance

The relationship between affect and job performance has been the topic of previous meta-analytic investigations. However, these studies have been limited by their focus on only one form of affect, trait dimensional affect, or failure to differentiate between various forms of affect, such as state affect and emotions. The present study extends past research by meta-analytically examining the association between state dimensional affect and discrete emotions and three dimensions of job performance, task performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and counterproductive work behavior. In addition, we examined subgroup differences according to the temporal consistency of performance and affect measurement, and we reviewed studies that assessed the affect–performance link using within-person analyses in the context of experience sampling designs.

Cross-National Explorations of the Impact of Affect at Work Using the State-Trait Emotion Measure: A Coordinated Series of Studies in the United States, China, and Romania

This series of studies using samples drawn in three diverse cultural contexts—the United States, China, and Romania—focused on the role of discrete emotion feelings (Izard, 2009) in predicting job satisfaction and performance. Our research goals required that we develop and validate a new measure, the State-Trait Emotion Measure (STEM), which provides assessments of a diverse array of discrete emotion feelings, dispositions corresponding to these, and aggregations of these to index state and trait positive and negative affect. Positive evidence for STEMs validity allowed for rigorous tests of hypotheses, which revealed, consistently across countries, that discrete emotion feelings show variations in their relationships with outcomes of performance and satisfaction and add incrementally to their prediction over dimensional measures of positive and negative affect. At the same time, the patterns of relationships across countries (e.g., positive relationships between positive emotion feelings and job satisfaction) were consistent with past research.

Vocational fit and counterproductive work behaviors: : A self-regulation perspective

This article focuses on establishing a link between vocational fit and 1 domain of job performance: counterproductive work behaviors (CWB). The authors offer a model explaining from a self-regulation perspective how the lack of vocational fit generates CWB and test this model in 2 studies and 3 multisource samples. The 1st study offers support for the mediation model linking vocational lack of fit to CWB through frustration. The 2nd study shows across 2 samples, using both self- and supervisor ratings of CWB, that vocational fit has incremental validity for the prediction of CWB over established predictors, such as broad and narrow personality traits and affect.

Fairness Reactions to Selection Methods: A Romanian study

This study examined fairness reactions to 10 selection methods in a sample of 240 Romanian employees. The results showed that Romanian employees rated work samples, interviews, written ability tests, and resumes as favorable, but graphology, ethnicity, and personal contacts as unfavorable. Perceived predictive validity was identified as the strongest predictor of process favorability ratings. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Examining the Criterion Related Validity of the General Ability Measure for Adults: A Two Sample Investigation

Across two employee samples (N=262 and 265) the authors examined the criterion-related validity of the General Ability Measure for Adults (GAMA), a brief nonverbal measure of cognitive ability. Results suggested that GAMA predicted job performance in both samples (uncorrected rs ranged from .27 to .50). No evidence was found for differential prediction across gender and age. These results highlight the usefulness of nonverbal cognitive ability tests in selection contexts.

Exploring the Cross-Cultural Generalizability of the Five-Factor Model of Personality The Romanian NEO PI-R

In this study, the authors examine the generalizability of the Five-Factor Model of personality to the Romanian population by describing the translation and validation of the Romanian version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R). Using data from five samples and multiple sources (self-reports, other-reports, and school records) and over two thousand participants, they examined the internal consistency, test−retest reliability, factor structure, self−other agreement, and correlations with age, gender, education, and academic performance. Construct-related validity evidence was obtained by examining the correlations of the NEO PI-R with the Big Five Questionnaire and Big Five Adjectives. The results suggest that the Five-Factor Model generalizes to the Romanian cultural context and that the Romanian NEO PI-R has sound psychometric properties comparable with normative samples in America and elsewhere.

The structure of vocational interests in Romania.

Using data provided by the Self-Directed Search (SDS) on a sample of 1,519 participants comprising 3 subsamples containing high school students, university students, and working adults, the authors examine the structure of vocational interests in Romania. Three competing structural models of vocational interests (Hollands circumplex model and Gatis and Rounds and Traceys hierarchical models) are analyzed with 3 different approaches: (a) frequency analysis of 2-letter codes, (b) randomization test of hypothesized order relations, and (c) structural equation modeling. The stability of the structure of vocational interests across age is also analyzed. The findings suggest mixed evidence for the 3 models, with Hollands model receiving more support from structural equation modeling, and Gatis and Rounds and Traceys models receiving more support from the frequency analysis of 2-letter codes. The data conclusively show that the structure of vocational interests becomes clearer with age.

Examining the Criterion-Related Validity of the Employee Screening Questionnaire: A Three-Sample Investigation

Across three samples (N=475, 358, and 112), the authors examined the criterion-related validity of the Employee Screening Questionnaire (ESQ), a brief forced-choice measure of integrity in the workplace. Results suggested that ESQ scores correlate highly with self- and other-reports of counterproductive work behaviors (rs of .59, .50, and .47 on the consolidated scores), as well as self-reports of job satisfaction (rs of .41 and .22 on the consolidated scores), and intention to leave the organization (rs of .30 and .21 on the consolidated scores). No predictive bias by gender was found for the ESQ scores. Based on these results, the authors encourage more research on the use of personality-based (covert), forced-choice integrity tests in selection contexts.

Personnel Selection, Psychology of

This article is a revision of the previous edition article by H. Schuler, volume 16, pp. 11343–11348,

Excellence through diversity: Interview with a prolific researcher

Broadly speaking, researchers can be classified into two groups: those that focus on one specific area of research and others that publish across many topics. For this issue’s interview, we talked to Dr. Timothy Judge, professor and researcher in I/O psychology/business/organizational behavior that publishes across various areas from selection to work-family conflict. We interviewed Dr. Judge about research in general and about some of his interests.