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Surrogate measures of original authors' reward context, primary motivation for doing the research, and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) were examined for their affect on criterion-related validities reported in the Journal of Applied Psychology and Personnel Psychology between 1964 and 1992. Number of years of experience (a surrogate KSA measure) displayed no moderating relationship. Type of organizational need (equal employment opportunity compliance, augmenting existing selection system, etc.) and investigator interests (e.g., theory testing) were related to criterion-related validities. Place of authors' employment (i.e., reward context) also displayed a moderating relationship (authors in private industry reported higher average validities in comparison with academics). Interaction effects on criterion-related validities were found between authors' experience and (a) place of employment, and (b) primary motivation for conducting the research. Results are interpreted in view of possible differences in ability, motivation, and opportunity to do research across employment settings. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

One of the most commonly accepted models of relationships among three variables in applied industrial and organizational psychology is the simple moderator effect. However, many authors have expressed concern over the general lack of empirical support for interaction effects reported in the literature. We demonstrate in the current sample that use of a continuous, dependent-response scale instead of a discrete, Likert-type scale, causes moderated regression analysis effect sizes to increase an average of 93%. We suggest that use of relatively coarse Likert scales to measure fine dependent responses causes information loss that, although varying widely across subjects, greatly reduces the probability of detecting true interaction effects. Specific recommendations for alternate research strategies are made. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Response biases in biodata scores derived with option-keying and item-keying procedures were investigated. Results indicated that (a) when subjects simulated responding as job applicants they distorted their responses in a socially desirable direction; (b) item-keyed scores were susceptible to inflation due to socially desirable responding and specific job-title knowledge, but option-keyed scores were not; and (c) response biases were not reflected in response latencies. A supplementary analysis indicated that the two keying procedures may capture different aspects of criterion variance. Implications for reconciling conflicting reports about the susceptibility of biodata scores to response biases are discussed. Issues related to reliability and validity of the two keying procedures, and the generalizability of the results to personality tests, are also discussed. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Biographical information was generated from retrospective life-history essays completed in the fall of 1986 by first-year students at the U.S. Naval Academy. Essays were targeted to aspects of four generic life experiences (individual accomplishments, group accomplishments, disappointing situations, and stressful situations) that might reflect the processes or outcomes of antecedent developmental episodes. Essays were coded to generate biodata items, which were then given to 917 midshipmen entering the Naval Academy in the summer of 1987. Scales were developed that predicted criteria of military performance, academic performance, and peer ratings of leadership in validation and cross-validation samples. Implications for item development and biodata construct validity are discussed. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)