Garnett S. Stokes

A sensation seeking scale for children: Further refinement and psychometric development

A revision of the Sensation Seeking Scale for Children (SSSC) was standardized and validated on a community sample of 660 elementary- and middle-school children and 168 clinic-referred male children. Factor analysis of the combined samples yielded three unique factors, entitled Thrill and Adventure Seeking, Drug and Alcohol Attitudes, and Social Disinhibition. Psychometric indices of reliability and validity were acceptable, but test-retest reliability was only moderate. Differences in SSSC scores according to sex, ethnic group, age, and intellectual status were similar to those found previously with the adult Sensation Seeking Scales. Consistent with documented relations between adult antisocial personality and sensation seeking, the SSSC distinguished boys with conduct disorder (CD) from clinic controls, but the SSSC scores of boys with CD did not differ from those of the community sample boys. Discussion includes suggestions as to the continued study of the assessment of sensation seeking in children.

Performance and Satisfaction in Private versus Nonprivate Work Settings

The role of individual differences, task complexity, and privacy in determining performance and environmental satisfaction was explored.Greater arousal levels in a nonprivate office were predicted to decrease satisfaction expressed for nonprivate settings but to increase performance by producing a social facilitation effect. It was proposed that sex and introversion/extroversion would interact with task complexity and privacy. Research participants were 169 introductory psychology students who were randomly placed in either private or nonprivate offices. Results indicated that greater satisfaction was expressed by those working in the private offices. In addition, people working on the complex task were more satisfied in the private setting than the nonprivate one. The social facilitation hypothesis was supported, and male introverts performed best in the nonprivate office on the simple task. Implications for organizations and for future research are discussed. Organizations vary considerably in the layout and design of their offices. However, the effects of spatial characteristics on employees in the office have only recently begun to receive attention (Wineman, 1986). One concern is whether or not the open office is an asset to the organization

Specification of Scales in Biodata Form Development: Rational vs. Empirical and Global vs. Specific

Although empirical keying has been the most popular scoring strategy with biodata, researchers have increasingly argued that rational approaches are better for advancing theory. Higher validities and less faking with empirical keys, however, have made many reluctant to abandon them. Research in the personality field provided support for the notion that many rational biodata scales may be multi-faceted. Development of more specific scales was suggested as a technique for creating rational scales with validities that more closely approximate that of empirical keys. Three different strategies (rational, internal, and external/empirical) were used in the scoring of a biodata inventory for use with mechanical equipment franchise owners. The rational and internal approaches were investigated within two samples and at two levels - very specific constructs and global constructs. In addition, two types of criteria were used, including an objective measure of sales and supervisory performance ratings. The specific rational scales were as predictive as the empirical item key. Strategies for developing and scoring a biodata form using a rational approach are discussed.

Adolescent life experiences as predictors of occupational attainment

Adolescent life experiences, measured with Owens Biographical Questionnaire (BQ), were used to predict occupational attainment 16 years to 21 years later in a sample of 1,523 college graduates. Study participants completed the BQ in either 1968 or 1970-1973 as college freshmen and subsequently reported their occupational status in 1989. Jobs were rationally clustered into 18 different categories. Separate gender analyses were conducted in which 13 BQ factors were used as predictors of occupational attainment. Effect sizes were substantially larger than those obtained in an earlier study by A. G. Neiner and W. A. Owens (1985). The usefulness of life experience data for understanding occupational choices as well as implications for college counseling are discussed.

Content/Construct Approaches in Life History Form Development for Selection

Life history, or biodata, inventories are attractive alternatives to cognitive ability tests for selection, but they have been frequently criticized for their low construct validity and the a-theoretical nature of their items. Little guidance in the literature is provided for developing good construct-valid biodata measures. Using a content/construct-oriented approach, a biodata form was developed and validated. The methods for developing and validating the form are thoroughly described so as to provide guidelines for future researchers, and evidence for the meaningfulness of the scales is presented.

Construct/Rational Biodata Dimensions to Predict Salesperson Performance: Report on the U.S. Department of Labor Sales Study

Abstract The U.S. Department of Labors Assessment Research and Development Program proposed the Validation Methods Research Project to correct many of the problems noted by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) with the use of the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) as a tool for screening and referring applicants to prospective employers. One of the projects goals was the development of a biodata form as a supplement to the GATB due to evidence for biodatas validity, in particular its incremental validity over that obtained with cognitive ability tests, and its low adverse impact. Results of the study to develop and validate a biodata measure (Salesperson Biodata Questionnaire; SBQ) to select salespersons are provided. A construct-rational approach was used in construction of the SBQ, and a concurrent validation study was conducted to evaluate the validity of a revised form of the GATB and the SBQ. The SBQ showed significant incremental validities over the GATB for predicting four performance composites and Overall Performance. Leadership, Self-Motivation, Dependability, and Multi-tasking Ability were the strongest predictors of salesperson job performance. The value of the multivariate framework and several patterns of relationships that emerged in the study are discussed.

An identification of low back pain groups using biobehavioral variables

A multivariate predictive model of low back pain (LBP) was developed. Following a semi-structured interview, 73 participants were assigned to dysfunctional chronic low back pain (DCLBP), functional chronic low back pain (FCLBP), acute low back pain (ALBP), and healthy control (HC) groups. All participants underwent a comprehensive physical, psychophysiological, and psychological evaluation. Multivariate analyses indicated no psychophysiological, few physical, and many psychological differences among the groups. The DCLBP group was found to be most impaired in flexion (p<.001), and the HC group performed the most total work (ft-lb) in extension (p<.001). Psychologically, the DCLBP group displayed greater levels of emotional distress and characterological disturbances and were more functionally impaired (p<.001). Few differences between FCLBP and HC were found. A classification analysis using physical and psychological variables correctly classified 83.3% of DCLBP patients, and it was found that the ALBP group was heterogeneous with some patients having a dysfunctional profile and other patients having a functional profile. The psychological variables were more potent predictors of group membership than were the physical variables. These findings indicate that potential DCLBP and FCLBP patients can be identified shortly following an injury, suggesting important implications for assessment and treatment of low back pain in general, and more specifically, for reducing health care costs and human suffering.

Somatothymia in chronic pain patients

Somatothymia is the use of somatic language to communicate affective distress. A total of 152 chronic pain patients completed a systems review checklist and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Associated features of somatic symptoms and the meaningfulness of somatic symptoms as a communication, common physical areas of somatic focus, patterns of affective distress in high and low somatothymics, and the utility of select variables classifying high and low somatothymics were evaluated. The results indicate that a systems review checklist can be used as a quick, useful, and initial screen for somatothymia and that somatic symptoms can in fact communicate affective distress.

Facial expressions of pain in muscle-contraction headache patients

Using a judgment and component analysis of facial actions, 14 muscle-contraction headache (MCH) patients were videotaped in headache and nonheadache states. In addition, patients were also required to undergo a resting physiological assessment (frontalis electromyography, temporal blood volume pulse, and heart rate), reaction-time task, and complete self-report measures of pain state and mood. Headache and nonheadache state of MCH patients were reliably identified by 20 observers. Characteristics of facial expressions that occurred most frequently in the headache state included furrowed eyebrows, closed eyes, slow eye blinks, lip pursuing, facial grimacing, and flat facial affect. Headache state was also associated with increased latency to respond to an auditory tone and mood disturbances, but no differences in baseline physiological activity were observed. Our findings provide support for the utility and clinical relevance of judgment and component analysis of facial actions in MCH patients.