Henk T. van der Molen

Predicting Expatriate Job Performance for Selection Purposes A Quantitative Review

This article meta-analytically reviews empirical studies on the prediction of expatriate job performance. Using 30 primary studies (total N = 4,046), it was found that predictive validities of the Big Five were similar to Big Five validities reported for domestic employees. Extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were predictive of expatriate job performance; openness was not. Other predictors that were found to relate to expatriate job performance were cultural sensitivity and local language ability. Cultural flexibility, selection board ratings, tolerance for ambiguity, ego strength, peer nominations, task leadership, people leadership, social adaptability, and interpersonal interest emerged as predictors from exploratory investigations (K < 4). It is surprising that intelligence has seldom been investigated as a predictor of expatriate job performance.

Longterm effects of problem-based learning: a comparison of competencies acquired by graduates of a problem-based and a conventional medical school

Background  Problem‐based learning (PBL) as an approach to the instruction of medical students has attracted much attention in recent years. However, its effect on the performance of its graduates is the subject of considerable debate. This article presents data from a large‐scale study among graduates of a problem‐based medical school and those of a conventional medical school to contribute to this discussion.

Constructivist, Problem-Based Learning Does Work: A Meta-Analysis of Curricular Comparisons Involving a Single Medical School

Effects of problem-based learning as reported in curricular comparison studies have been shown to be inconsistent over different medical schools. Therefore, we decided to summarize effects of a single well-established problem-based curriculum rather than to add up sometimes-conflicting findings from different problem-based curricula. Effect sizes were computed for 270 comparisons. The results suggest that students and graduates from the particular curriculum perform much better in the area of interpersonal skills, and with regard to practical medical skills. In addition, they consistently rate the quality of the curriculum as higher. Moreover, fewer students drop out, and those surviving need less time to graduate. Differences with respect to medical knowledge and diagnostic reasoning were on average positive but small. These outcomes are at variance with expectations voiced in recent contributions to the literature. They demonstrate that constructivist curricula can have positive effects on learning even if they deemphasize direct instruction.

Randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy and intolerance-of-uncertainty therapy for generalized anxiety disorder

This randomized controlled trial compared the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy (MCT) and intolerance-of-uncertainty therapy (IUT) for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in an outpatient context. Patients with GAD (N = 126) consecutively referred to an outpatient treatment center for anxiety disorder were randomly allocated to MCT, IUT, or a delayed treatment (DT) condition. Patients were treated individually for up to 14 sessions. Assessments were conducted before treatment (pretreatment), after the last treatment session (posttreatment), and six months after treatment had ended (follow-up). At posttreatment and follow-up assessments, substantial improvements were observed in both treatment conditions across all outcome variables. Both MCT and IUT, but not DT, produced significant reductions in GAD-specific symptoms with large effect sizes (ranging between 0.94 and 2.39) and high proportions of clinically significant change (ranging between 77% and 95%) on various outcome measures, and the vast majority of the patients (i.e., 91% in the MCT group, and 80% in the IUT group) no longer fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for GAD. Results further indicate that MCT produced better results than IUT. This was evident on most outcome measures, and also reflected in effect sizes and degree of clinical response and recovery.

A hierarchical model for the relationships between general and specific vulnerability factors and symptom levels of generalized anxiety disorder

The present study examined a hierarchical model for the relationships between general and specific vulnerability factors and symptom manifestations of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). A clinical sample of patients with GAD (N=137) completed a set of self-report questionnaires for measuring neuroticism, extraversion, intolerance of uncertainty, metacognitive beliefs, and symptoms of generalized anxiety (i.e., worry) and depression. A bootstrapping analysis yielded support for a model in which the relation between the general vulnerability factor of neuroticism and symptoms of GAD were mediated by the specific vulnerability factors of intolerance of uncertainty and negative metacognitions. Implications for the classification and treatment of GAD are discussed.

Encounters between medical specialists and patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms; influences of communication on patient outcomes and use of health care: a literature overview.

Medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) burden patients and health services due to large quantities of consultations and medical interventions. The aim of this study is to determine which elements of communication in non-psychiatric specialist MUPS care influence health outcomes. Systematic search in PubMed, PsycINFO and Embase. Data extraction comprising study design, patient characteristics, number of patients, communication strategies, outcome measures and results. Elements of doctor-patient communication were framed according to symptoms, health anxiety, satisfaction, daily functioning and use of health care. Eight included studies. Two studies described the effect of communication on patient outcome in physical symptoms, three studies on health anxiety and patient satisfaction and one study on daily functioning. Two studies contained research on use of health care. Qualitative synthesis of findings was conducted. Communication matters in non-psychiatric MUPS specialist care. Perceiving patients’ expectations correctly enables specialists to influence patients’ cognitions, to reduce patients’ anxiety and improve patients’ satisfaction. Patients report less symptoms and health anxiety when symptoms are properly explained. Positive interaction and feedback reduces use of health care and improves coping. Development of communication skills focused on MUPS patients should be part of postgraduate education for medical specialists.

When selection ratios are high: predicting the expatriation willingness of prospective domestic entry-level job applicants

High expatriate selection ratios thwart the ability of multinational organizations to select expatriates. Reducing the selection ratio may be accomplished by selecting those applicants for entry level domestic positions who have expatriate aspirations. Regression analyses conducted on data from a sample of 299 Dutch students about to enter the job market indicated that 20 predictors subsumed under the Five Factor Model, core self-evaluations, expatriate specific predictors, and biodata account for 50% of the variance in expatriation willingness. The predictors were ordered relative to their increasing alignment with expatriation willingness in terms of the action, target, context, and time elements reflected in Ajzens (1988, 1991) principle of correspondence. Dominance and relative weights analysis provided strong support for the hypothesis that greater alignment on these elements translates into greater predictive power, with biodata emerging as the most powerful predictor set, followed by expatriate specific predictors, the Five Factor Model, and finally core self-evaluations.

Webcam testing: Validation of an innovative open-ended multimedia test

A modern test that takes advantage of the opportunities provided by advancements in computer technology is the multimedia test. The purpose of this study was to investigate the criterion-related validity of a specific open-ended multimedia test, namely a webcam test, by means of a concurrent validity study. In a webcam test a number of work-related situations are presented and participants have to respond as if these were real work situations. The responses are recorded with a webcam. The aim of the webcam test which we investigated is to measure the effectiveness of social work behaviour. This first field study on a webcam test was conducted in an employment agency in The Netherlands. The sample consisted of 188 consultants who participated in a certification process. For the webcam test, good interrater reliabilities and internal consistencies were found. The results showed the webcam test to be significantly correlated with job placement success. The webcam test scores were also found to be related to job knowledge. Hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that the webcam test has incremental validity up to and beyond job knowledge in predicting job placement success. The webcam test, therefore, seems a promising type of instrument for personnel selection.

Normative data for the Dutch version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire.

Worry is a common symptom in various psychiatric problems and the key symptom of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) is the most widely used self-report scale for measuring worry. The present study provides normative data for the Dutch version of the PSWQ for a large community sample and a clinically referred sample of patients with GAD. Norms are not only provided for the original 16-item version, but also for an abbreviated 11-item version, which only consists of the positively worded items and has been shown to be a promising alternative to the full-length version. The percentile scores obtained for the community sample and the clinical GAD sample did not show much overlap, and this appeared true for the full-length as well as the abbreviated version of the PSWQ. These normative data seem suitable for differentiating between normal and abnormal manifestations of worrying and for evaluating the efficacy of treatments for GAD. (Netherlands Journal of Psychology, 65, 69-75.)

Applicant and Method Factors Related to Ethnic Score Differences in Personnel Selection: A Study at the Dutch Police

The aim of this study was to examine applicant and method factors related to ethnic score differences on a cognitive ability test, a personality test, an assessment center (AC), an employment interview, and a final employment recommendation in the context of police officer selection (N = 13,526). Score differences between the majority group and the first-generation minority groups were comparable to research findings from the literature. However, score differences between the majority group and second-generation minority groups were much smaller. On the cognitive ability test and the personality test most variability was explained by Dutch language-proficiency. Confirming assumed-characteristics theory, more variability on the interview and the employment recommendation was explained by Dutch language-proficiency and education than on the AC. Unsupportive of complexity–extremity theory, there seemed to be a general tendency to give lower scores to the ethnic minority group.