J.K. Oostrom

An evaluation of an aggression management training program to cope with workplace violence in the healthcare sector

Workplace violence is a major occupational hazard for healthcare workers, generating a need for effective intervention programs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an aggression management training program. The evaluation design was based on the internal referencing strategy, an unobtrusive and applicable evaluation method that rules out some major threats to internal validity without the need for a control group. On three occasions, training participants completed a questionnaire containing experimental and control variables. As hypothesized, there was a significant improvement in the experimental variables that was larger than the non-significant change in the control variable. We conclude that aggression management training may be an effective instrument in the fight against workplace violence.

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.

Effects of Individual Differences on the Perceived Job Relatedness of a Cognitive Ability Test and a Multimedia Situational Judgment Test

Although there is a growing number of publications concerning applicant reactions to different selection instruments, the relationships between individual differences and applicant reactions have largely remained unexplored. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of several testing-related and general individual differences (anxiety, self-evaluations, and personality) on the most commonly studied dimension of applicant reactions, namely the perceived job relatedness of selection instruments. Participants were 153 psychology students, who completed a cognitive ability test and a multimedia situational judgment test as part of their educational program. Our results indicated that computer anxiety negatively affected perceived job relatedness and core self-evaluations, subjective well-being, agreeableness, emotional stability, and openness to experience positively affected perceived job relatedness. Openness to experience was the most consistent predictor of perceived job relatedness. The results of our study suggest that certain individuals may be more predisposed to react positively to selection instruments. Therefore, we concluded that the nature of the applicant pool should be carefully considered when designing interventions to improve applicant reactions.

New technology in personnel selection: How recruiter characteristics affect the adoption of new selection technology

The aim of the present field study is to expand the understanding of how characteristics of recruiters relate to their adoption of new selection technology. In two studies, among 198 recruiters, we used the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), together with two measures of personality (i.e., openness to experience and neuroticism), two information technology specific individual differences (i.e., personal innovativeness in information technology and computer self-efficacy), and reactions to and actual usage of new technology. Both studies showed that all recruiter characteristics (except openness to experience) relate to perceptions of usefulness and ease of use, and that these perceptions relate to intentions to use new selection technologies. Study 2 showed that recruiter characteristics predict perceptions of usefulness and ease of use over and above established predictors of the TAM. Perceptions of usefulness and ease of use were better predictors of intentions to use new technology than perceptions of face validity, predictive validity, and fairness. Thus, when it comes to the adoption of new selection technology, recruiter characteristics, and perceptions of usefulness and ease of use play an important role.

Alternative predictors for dealing with the diversity-validity dilemma in personnel selection: The constructed response multimedia test

In the context of the diversity–validity dilemma in personnel selection, the present field study compared ethnic subgroup differences on an innovative constructed response multimedia test to other commonly used selection instruments. Applicants (N = 245, 27% ethnic minorities) for entry‐level police jobs completed a constructed response multimedia test, cognitive ability test, language proficiency test, personality inventory, structured interview, and role play. Results demonstrated minor ethnic subgroup differences on constructed response multimedia test scores as compared to other instruments. Constructed response multimedia test scores were related to the selection decision, and no evidence for predictive bias was found. Subgroup differences were also examined on the dimensional level, with cognitively loaded dimension scores displaying larger differences.

Implicit trait policies in multimedia situational judgment tests of leadership skills: Can they predict leadership behavior?

To explain why situational judgment tests are often correlated with personality measures, Motowidlo, Hooper, and Jackson (2006a, 2006b) developed the implicit trait policy theory. Implicit trait policies are beliefs about causal relationships between personality traits and behavioral effectiveness. Among 180 employees, this field study examined whether a multimedia situational judgment test that was intended to assess leadership skills can capture individual differences in such policies. Furthermore, it was examined whether these implicit trait policies were able to predict leadership behavior. Results confirmed that the situational judgment test was able to capture individual differences in implicit trait policies for Extraversion and Conscientiousness. Furthermore, results showed that implicit trait policies for Extraversion can predict leadership behavior over and above leadership experience and the associated personality trait.

How do idiosyncratic deals contribute to the employability of older workers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships of i-deals with the employability of older workers, and introduce two distinct theoretical processes through which these effects occur. On the one hand, a self-enhancement perspective postulates that i-deals enhance self-efficacy through which older workers become more employable. On the other hand, a lifespan perspective postulates that i-deals enhance older workers’ future time perspective through which they become more employable. Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered among 244 employees via an online questionnaire that had been sent to employees of 45 years or older at eight companies in the Netherlands. Findings – Results showed that task and work responsibilities i-deals are strongly related to older workers’ employability, and that this relationship is mediated by future time perspective and self-efficacy. Location flexibility i-deals were positively related to employability. Financial i-deals and schedule flexibility i-...

What a Difference Your E-Mail Makes: Effects of Informal E-Mail Addresses in Online Résumé Screening

Résumés are screened rapidly, with some reports stating that recruiters form their impressions within 10 seconds. Certain résumé characteristics can have a significant impact on the snap judgments these recruiters make. The main goal of the present study was to examine the effect of the e-mail address (formal vs. informal) used in a résumé on the hirability perceptions formed by professional recruiters (N=73). In addition, the effect of the e-mail address on hirability perceptions was compared to the effects of spelling errors and typeface. Participants assessed the cognitive ability, personality, and the hirability of six fictitious applicants for the job of an HR specialist. The hirability ratings for the résumés with informal e-mail addresses were significantly lower than the hirability ratings for résumés that featured a formal e-mail address. The effect of e-mail address was as strong as the effect of spelling errors and stronger than that of typeface. The effect of e-mail address on hirability was mediated by perceptions of conscientiousness and honesty-humility. This study among actual recruiters shows for the first time that the choice of the e-mail address used on a résumé might make a real difference.

No evidence for a relationship between hair testosterone concentrations and 2D:4D ratio or risk taking

Using a recently developed alternative assay procedure to measure hormone levels from hair samples, we examined the relationships between testosterone, cortisol, 2D:4D ratio, overconfidence and risk taking. A total of 162 (53 male) participants provided a 3 cm sample of hair, a scanned image of their right and left hands from which we determined 2D:4D ratios, and completed measures of overconfidence and behavioral risk taking. While our sample size for males was less than ideal, our results revealed no evidence for a relationship between hair testosterone concentrations, 2D:4D ratios and risk taking. No relationships with overconfidence emerged. Partially consistent with the Dual Hormone Hypothesis, we did find evidence for the interacting effect of testosterone and cortisol on risk taking but only in men. Hair testosterone concentrations were positively related to risk taking when levels of hair cortisol concentrations were low, in men. Our results lend support to the suggestion that endogenous testosterone and 2D:4D ratio are unrelated and might then exert diverging activating vs. organizing effects on behavior. Comparing our results to those reported in the existing literature we speculate that behavioral correlates of testosterone such as direct effects on risk taking may be more sensitive to state-based fluctuations than baseline levels of testosterone.

Why Do Situational Interviews Predict Performance? Is it Saying How You Would Behave or Knowing How You Should Behave?

PurposeThe present study examined two theoretical explanations for why situational interviews predict work-related performance, namely (a) that they are measures of interviewees’ behavioral intentions or (b) that they are measures of interviewees’ ability to correctly decipher situational demands.Design/Methodology/ApproachWe tested these explanations with 101 students, who participated in a 2-day selection simulation.FindingsIn line with the first explanation, there was considerable similarity between what participants said they would do and their actual behavior in corresponding work-related situations. However, the underlying postulated mechanism was not supported by the data. In line with the second explanation, participants’ ability to correctly decipher situational demands was related to performance in both the interview and work-related situations. Furthermore, the relationship between the interview and performance in the work-related situations was partially explained by this ability to decipher situational demands.ImplicationsAssessing interviewees’ ability to identify criteria might be of additional value for making selection decisions, particularly for jobs where it is essential to assess situational demands.Originality/ValueThe present study made an effort to open the ‘black box’ of situational interview validity by examining two explanations for their validity. The results provided only moderate support for the first explanation. However, the second explanation was fully supported by these results.