Jochen Kramer

Political skill construct and criterion‐related validation: a two‐study investigation

Purpose – Political skill is measured with the political skill inventory (PSI), and the construct is composed of four distinct dimensions. Previous validation studies of the PSI found evidence in support of the four‐factor structure, but only using self‐reports. Furthermore, no efforts have been made to also identify a single, higher‐order factor solution through second‐order factor analysis. The present research aims to expand on prior work and report on a two‐study investigation of both the construct validity and antecedents and consequences of the political skill construct.Design/methodology/approach – To test construct validity, Study 1 combined self‐ and other reports of political skill from 467 employees in a confirmatory factor analysis. Study 2 used longitudinal data from 202 employees to constructively replicate Study 1 results and to test hypotheses regarding the antecedents and consequences of political skill.Findings – The results of Study 1 confirmed both a four‐factor and a single higher‐ord...

Construct and Criterion-Related Validation of a Measure of Emotional Reasoning Skills: A Two-Study Investigation

In a two-study investigation, the construct and criterion-related validities of the Test of Emotional Intelligence, an ability-based measure of emotional reasoning skills, were examined. In Study 1, as hypothesized, emotional reasoning skills were related to emotion recognition ability (i.e., as measured by Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy), emotional empathy, and three measures of successful social functioning (i.e., social astuteness, interpersonal influence, and apparent sincerity) assessed by peers, after controlling for personality and occupational environment characteristics. In Study 2, results from a predictive validation study demonstrated that Emotional Intelligence explained additional variance in overall job performance ratings beyond general mental ability and personality traits. Contributions and implications of this research investigation, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Does Acquisitive Self-Presentation in Personality Self-Ratings Enhance Validity? Evidence from Two Experimental Field Studies

The aim of the present research was to demonstrate that acquisitive self-presentation in personality scales is not a barrier to their criterion-related validities in human resource contexts, but rather a means to improve them. A pilot study (Study 1) with 96 job incumbents provided preliminary positive evidence. In Study 2, in the experimental group (n=99), the instructions asked job incumbents to work on a Big-Five personality inventory (BFI-K) as if they took part in a personnel selection procedure for a personally very attractive position. In the control group (n=93) of Study 2, job incumbents were asked to answer the inventory items honestly. As expected, the correlation between the self-ratings of the motive to get along (i.e., which comprises emotional stability, conscientiousness, and agreeableness) and contextual performance assessments was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group in Study 2. Additionally, the correlation between the self-ratings of the motive to get ahead (i.e., which comprises extraversion and openness to experience) and task performance and leadership assessments was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group in Study 2. It is proposed that responding to a personality inventory in a human resource decision situation should be conceptualized as a workplace simulation.

Hochschultypen als differenzielle Lern- und Entwicklungsmilieus?

Studiengange in den Fachbereichen Technik, Wirtschaft, Sozialwissenschaften und Informatik werden in Baden-Wurttemberg von Universitaten, Hochschulen fur angewandte Wissenschaften (HaW) und der Duale Hochschule Baden-Wurttemberg (DHBW) angeboten. Abiturientinnen und Abiturienten stehen damit vor der Wahl: Welche Hochschulart sollen sie fur ihr Studium wahlen? Macht diese Wahl einen Unterschied fur die personliche Entwicklung wahrend des Studiums und wie gut gelingt es den Hochschultypen, die Studierenden auf ihr Berufsleben vorzubereiten? Um Antworten auf diese Fragen zu finden, wurden mehrere Studien mit den Daten des TOSCA-Projektes durchgefuhrt. In diesem Beitrag werden die zentralen Befunde dieser Studien zusammengefasst: Kramer et al. (2011) untersuchten, inwiefern sich die Eingangsvoraussetzungen der Studierenden an den drei Hochschultypen voneinander unterscheiden. Sie konnten zeigen, dass Eingangsunterschiede in allen betrachteten Merkmalsbereichen (soziale Hintergrundmerkmale, Leistungsvoraussetzungen, berufliche Interessen, berufliche Motive und basale Personlichkeitseigenschaften) bestanden. Ob sich nach Kontrolle dieser Selektionsunterschiede differenzielle Effekte je nach besuchtem Hochschultyp nachweisen lassen, pruften Kramer et al. (2012) im Hinblick auf berufliche Interessen, Motive und basale Personlichkeitseigenschaften wahrend des Studiums und Berufseintritts sowie Zettler, Kramer, Thoemmes, Nagy und Trautwein (2013) im Hinblick auf beruflichen Erfolg in den ersten Berufsjahren. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studien sprechen dafur, dass die Unterschiede in den Personlichkeitsmerkmalen und dem beruflichen Erfolg nicht masgeblich auf die Hochschultypwahl zuruckzufuhren sind, sondern Fortschreibungen der Selektionsunterschiede darstellen.