Jack W. Kostal

A meta-analytic investigation of demographic differences in protean, boundaryless, and proactive career orientations

Purpose The protean and boundaryless career concepts have dominated recent career research. Demographic groups are posited to differ on these “new career orientations,” with implications for career development and social equity. The purpose of this paper is to test these hypotheses by systematically reviewing research on demographic differences in new career orientations. Design/methodology/approach This paper meta-analyzes demographic differences in protean, boundaryless, and proactive career orientations using data from 29,605 individuals (74 samples). Findings Demographic differences in new career orientations are generally negligible to small, with organizational mobility preferences showing the largest differences across demographic characteristics. Age showed curvilinear relations with new career orientations. National economic development moderated new career orientation-educational level relations. Research limitations/implications Results support the construct validity of “proactive career orientation” as a unifying construct encompassing protean and psychological mobility boundaryless orientations (cf. Wiernik and Kostal, 2017). Future research should continue to explore career development in diverse economic/cultural contexts. Practical implications Small demographic differences suggest that potential benefits of new career orientations are not limited to members of particular groups. Age and education relations were large enough to indicate that large population segments may benefit from additional interventions to support career mobility and development. Originality/value This paper uses meta-analytic techniques to investigate demographic differences in career orientations with larger samples than possible in a single primary study. The meta-analytic design permitted investigation of a variety of methodological and cultural/economic moderators not previously considered in career orientation research.

Using Item Response Theory to Develop Measures of Acquisitive and Protective Self-Monitoring From the Original Self-Monitoring Scale.

For the past 40 years, the conventional univariate model of self-monitoring has reigned as the dominant interpretative paradigm in the literature. However, recent findings associated with an alternative bivariate model challenge the conventional paradigm. In this study, item response theory is used to develop measures of the bivariate model of acquisitive and protective self-monitoring using original Self-Monitoring Scale (SMS) items, and data from two large, nonstudent samples (Ns = 13,563 and 709). Results indicate that the new acquisitive (six-item) and protective (seven-item) self-monitoring scales are reliable, unbiased in terms of gender and age, and demonstrate theoretically consistent relations to measures of personality traits and cognitive ability. Additionally, by virtue of using original SMS items, previously collected responses can be reanalyzed in accordance with the alternative bivariate model. Recommendations for the reanalysis of archival SMS data, as well as directions for future research, are provided.

Changing abilities vs. changing tasks: Examining validity degradation with test scores and college performance criteria both assessed longitudinally

We explore potential explanations for validity degradation using a unique predictive validation data set containing up to four consecutive years of high school students’ cognitive test scores and four complete years of those students’ college grades. This data set permits analyses that disentangle the effects of predictor-score age and timing of criterion measurements on validity degradation. We investigate the extent to which validity degradation is explained by criterion dynamism versus the limited shelf-life of ability scores. We also explore whether validity degradation is attributable to fluctuations in criterion variability over time and/or GPA contamination from individual differences in course-taking patterns. Analyses of multiyear predictor data suggest that changes to the determinants of performance over time have much stronger effects on validity degradation than does the shelf-life of cognitive test scores. The age of predictor scores had only a modest relationship with criterion-related validity when the criterion measurement occasion was held constant. Practical implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Abstract: Cluster Analysis of Distributions: Development and Demonstration of a Method.

In this study, we develop an extension of cluster analysis to enable the comparison of objects across the entirety of multiple score distributions, rather than merely the distribution means. Although this procedure has many potential uses, one area of particular interest is its application in the development of test norms for psychological assessment batteries.