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Despite the common belief that "training is only as effective as the trainer providing it" (Osborn, 2018, para. 1), training theory tends to underemphasize the trainer and instead focuses on training content and design as sources of training effectiveness. In this article, we examine whether the role of the trainer should be more central to training theory. We address this issue using a dataset of trainee reactions from more than 10,000 employees enrolled in professional development courses. We suggest that trainee reactions are more likely to be influenced by the trainer than by the content. Thus, trainee reactions should reflect more between-trainer variance than between-content variance. Across 2 studies in online and face-to-face contexts, cross-classified random-effects models provide general support for our hypotheses, with 1 notable exception: the trainer matters less for trainee reactions in online courses. Our findings suggest the trainer matters more than previously thought and, thus, training theory should incorporate the role of the trainer in training effectiveness. Based on our findings, we suggest that training researchers should (a) model the trainer as a source of variation in training evaluation metrics, (b) examine the effect of the trainer at multiple levels of analysis, and (c) explicitly model the role of the trainer in training theory and design. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

This chapter identifies challenges faculty face when teaching in a terminal industrial-organizational psychology master’s program. The authors discuss how faculty, particularly new/junior faculty, can deal with these issues to become productive in teaching, research, service, consulting, and shaping program culture. The authors offer suggestions for creating a successful program tailored to the needs of different types of students (recent graduates versus experienced students), strategies for maintaining an active research program, and ways to integrate consulting into a master’s program. This chapter includes a discussion of the challenges of offering both a master’s and doctoral program, managing administrators, and building a program culture.

Taking a worker-centric approach, with evidence based on the experiences of working individuals, the current study examines the age-related stereotypes of jobs, the characteristics of age-stereotyped jobs, and the consequences of occupying them. In Study 1, we utilize samples of working adults from the US, Turkey, and Malaysia to establish validation evidence for a spectrum of 160 jobs (n = 123 raters per job). Study 1 findings indicate that entry-level jobs and jobs requiring manual labor or the use of technology are younger-typed, whereas senior level jobs and jobs requiring large investments in training or education are older-typed. The age-typing of jobs was found to be similar across countries for the vast majority of jobs. We then provide criterion validity evidence in Study 2, by testing the interactive effects of chronological age, job age-type, and sex on psychological age and perceived age and sex discrimination across samples of workers from these same three countries (n = 1469). Results upheld theoretical predictions based upon career timetables theory, prototype matching theory, and intersectional salience of ageism theory. The interactive effects of chronological age and job age-type were stronger for women than for men; the hypothesized patterns of effects were overall consistent for women but not for men.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on developing and validating a multidimensional measure of work-related age-based stereotypes (WAS) scale. Design/methodology/approach – Based upon a review of the literature, a three-dimensional stereotype content model including both negative (incompetence, inadaptability) and positive (warmth) stereotypes of older workers was created. Construct, convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity for the WAS scale were examined across three independent samples constituting both lab-based experimental studies and a field-based survey (total n=1,245). Findings – Across all samples, the WAS evidenced good construct, convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity. Originality/value – As evidenced by a review of the literature, the WAS is unique in that it measures both negative and positive stereotypes of older workers. Implications for research are discussed.

Drawing from theories in both the social and cross-cultural psychology domains, this article provides a theoretical framework that specifies the mechanisms by which age and culture interact to predict age discrimination, across multiple levels of culture, including societal, organizational, and individual levels of analyses. The prime facets of culture that are most relevant to discrimination in the workplace are identified. These facets of cultural values are then theoretically linked to age discrimination in the workplace as they are postulated to occur across levels, independently and in tandem. A theoretical model and research propositions are presented. Implications for research on age discrimination in the workplace are discussed.

We introduce an approach toward predicting intranational variance in individualism-collectivism, via utilization of ecological cultural practices and psychological cultural values. Using the climato-economic theory of culture, we modeled intranational collectivism using four measures, including normative behavioral and spatial collectivism practices, and the mean and dispersion of collectivism values, in one country, Turkey. Results evidenced confluence of findings based on both ecological measures and dispersion-based collectivism values. Conversely, mean collectivism values fared poorly. Study predictors explained up to approximate to 87% of the variance in intranational collectivism. Richer provinces with harsher climates were less collectivistic; vice-versa for poorer provinces with harsher climates.

Based upon theory on successful aging at work and the social identity of age, we hypothesized interactive effects of sex, objective chronological age, and subjective psychological/organizational age on age-based stereotype ratings of older workers, psychological well-being including both burnout and self-esteem, and behavioral self-reports of perceived unfair age and sex discrimination. Study hypotheses were tested using a survey-based sample of N = 1,583 workers from 3 countries, including Turkey, the United States, and Malaysia, and who were employed across a variety of occupations. Potential confounds resultant of socioeconomic status (education level), and the macro environment (country) were statistically controlled. Results generally found support for theoretically expected relations between age and work outcomes. Both psychological and organizational age interacted with chronological age such that different patterns of outcomes were found for men and women. Overall, although older subjective age benefited chronologically older workers, these interactive associations were less beneficial for older women as compared to older men. Implications of study findings for theory and practice are discussed.

This study examined age discrimination in between- vs. within-career job transitions. We expected that older workers transitioning into a new field would experience greater age discrimination than those who change jobs within the same field, particularly when amount of prior job experience is not made salient, and particularly when decision-makers were highly prejudiced. Results suggested that younger job applicants received higher suitability ratings than older job applicants, and job applicants making a within-career transition were rated higher than those making a between-career transition. As hypothesized, older job applicants making between-career transitions would receive the lowest ratings of suitability for hire when no information regarding experience was presented, and when decision-makers were highly prejudiced. Implications for the aging workforce are discussed.

Various types of organizations must manage rapidly changing operational contexts. To respond to these demands, organizations are relying more heavily on team-based work arrangements. Effectively managing such performance requires a systematic, broad approach to measuring team effectiveness that is comprehensive and sound, yet unobtrusive. One aspect of teamwork that is critical to success in these types of environments is adaptation. Teams must be able to react quickly and accurate to the changing environment. To effectively manage adaptive team performance in such contexts, there is a need to better understand team adaptation as well as to generate better team performance measurement systems. To this end, a review and synthesis of the empirical, theoretical, and methodological literatures concerning team adaptation, performance, and measurement is conducted to develop theoretically-based principles to guide development of effective team adaptation measurement systems as well as to inform future research. We propose six guiding principles that capture core features of team adaptation and serve as an aid in the development of team performance measurement systems. These principles are rooted in recent theoretical work on team adaptation and are presented at a level of abstraction suitable for generalization across performance measurement contexts and purposes. Behavioral markers describing processes associated with each principle and example measurement strategies are presented to illustrate development of specific measurement tools and metrics, based on the principles. The principles and behavioral markers presented can guide development of measurement systems to assess, train, and improve team adaptation, a core capacity of effective organizations . Future research needs to expand upon the principles advanced here to provide theoretically grounded and methodologically rigorous tools to help performance management professionals develop adaptive team capacities.

Although the notion of archetypes have a long history in the psychological literature, the notion of prejudice archetypes for different categories of workers, based upon unique combinations of indi...

This study examined the effects of stereotype threat and pacing on older adult training outcomes. Older adults (N = 51; M age = 71 years) were randomly assigned to stereotype threat and pacing conditions and completed computerized library training. Contrary to expectations, stereotype threat was found to improve performance significantly on both training practice exercises and a post-training knowledge test. Self-pacing was not found to affect training performance, but did produce more positive reactions to the training course. Implications for training design and for stereotype threat research are discussed.

This study extends research on the good mother stereotype by examining students’ perceptions of other students who return to school after having a child. Undergraduate students attending either community college or a 4-year southeastern university within the United States were asked to review a vignette in which a mother’s decision to return to college and her role satisfaction were manipulated. The 205 participants rated the woman who elects to continue her education shortly after the birth of a child as significantly less feminine, more dominant, more arrogant-calculating and cold-hearted, and less warm-agreeable than the mother who discontinued her education. The impact of these results is discussed in the context of Tinto’s (Review of Educational Research 45, 89–127, 1975) classic theory of student retention and Eagly and Steffen’s (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 46, 735–754, 1984) theory of gender stereotypes.

In modern military and civilian organizations, teams are increasingly composed of members from very different cultural backgrounds. This heterogeneity in cultural composition poses a unique set of challenges on the process of building and maintaining effective teams. This paper describes the concept of friction points in multicultural team performance, establishes their importance, and outlines an approach to measurement. Information from the proposed measurement process can be used to identify friction points in multicultural teams for the purposes of research as well as for developing various interventions in the field such as job aides (e.g., team metacognitive checklists), and generating feedback and remediation during training.

This study examined 145 students' course grades and scores on a standardised achievement test (the Area Concentration Achievement Test [ACAT] in Psychology) following completion of web-based, web-enhanced or classroom courses in basic learning. We found that students in web-based courses had lower course grades than those in either classroom-based or web-enhanced courses. Moreover, students in web-based or web-enhanced courses scored lower on the ACAT Human Learning subtest than did students in classroom-based instruction. Thus we found poorer outcomes associated with web-based rather than classroom-based instruction. Perhaps neither standardised tests nor grades capture the strengths of web-based pedagogy. More research is needed to assess learning outcomes across various modes of instruction in order to identify variables that can maximise success of web-based instruction and perhaps also to better capture the strengths of web-based pedagogy.

A policy capturing approach was used to examine the advising variables that contribute to student satisfaction. Students (N = 468) rated 48 scenarios in which advising approach, relationship, advisor gender, emotional nature of the relationship, and type of advisor were manipulated. Results show that being known to the advisor, having a professional advisor, and receiving warmth and support from the advisor were important factors to advisee satisfaction. Ratings differed by student gender, advising experience, and age. Relational variables can exist across multiple advising approaches, and satisfaction likely depends more on the advisor's interpersonal skills and style than advising approach.

The widespread availability of the Internet has revolutionized the way organizations train their workforces. With e-learning methods, learning can take place on-demand, and trainees can be given greater control over their learning than ever before. This increased control has the potential to improve training effectiveness. However, the failure of many e-learning programs suggests that organizations would benefit from a set of research-based principles on providing learner control in e-learning. In this article, we offer guidelines for preparing trainees for learner-led instruction, the design of learner-controlled training, and the creation of workplace conditions that facilitate successful learner-led training. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

This study examined the relation between academic procrastination tendency and student writing success. We found that the tendency to procrastinate on writing tasks was associated with general anxiety, anxiety about writing the paper, writing the paper later than usual, less satisfaction with writing the paper, and lower grades. Additionally, receipt of feedback on writing was associated with better writing outcomes for high procrastinators. These results have implications for understanding academic procrastination and the use of academic interventions to address procrastination.

This study extends prior research on the good-mother stereotype by examining the influence of mothers’ role satisfaction on perceptions. Students read a brief description of a mother and rated her commitment to motherhood and communality. As predicted, the mother who remained home with her child and who was satisfied with staying home was rated higher than was the dissatisfied stay-at-home mother. However, the continuously employed mother who was satisfied with working outside of the home was perceived as less committed to motherhood and less selfless than was the dissatisfied, employed mother. The results are discussed in the context of Russo's (1976) analysis of the motherhood mandate and Eagly and Steffcn's (1984) theory of gender stereotypes. Implications for career-oriented mothers are examined.

A policy capturing study was conducted to determine if resumeprofile judgments are generalizable to judgments of actual resumes. Forty recruiters judged 60 resumes or corresponding profiles on interview suitability. When profiles were judged, more variance in suitability judgments was accounted for, there was higher agreement among recruiters, the judgments were more favourable, and cue usage was different than when actual resumes were judged. Thus, inferences based on profiles were not generalizable to actual resumes. The importance of representative design and limitations of policy capturing for understanding resume screening judgments were discussed.

This study explored the value of using Holland's theory of vocational personality types and work environments for improving predictions of personality–performance relations. Upper level undergraduates representing the RIASEC environments completed the Self-Directed Search and a measure of the Five-Factor Model of personality that were used to predict grades. Overall, agreeableness and conscientiousness accounted for approximately 2% to 3% of the variance in performance. However, when the data were analyzed further by RIASEC environment, more than 9% of the variance in performance was accounted for with personality scores. This study supports assertions in the literature that predictions of performance using global traits, such as conscientiousness, can be improved using appropriate moderators. Furthermore, important relations between personality and performance can be masked if job context is ignored.

A laboratory experiment was conducted on a convenient sample of N = 724 introductory Psychology students from the southeastern United States, to test the effectiveness of a dual identity recategorization intervention when applied on age bias toward a hypothetical older adult, when applied on individuals both low and high on the spectrum of ageism, and when applied on members of the naturally occurring in-group, younger adults. As predicted by Optimal Distinctiveness Theory, the intervention served to worsen evaluations of an in-group target vis-à-vis a control group that was not exposed to the intervention, and especially when applied on individuals possessing lower amounts of the in-group bias in question, ageism. Moreover, although age-based stereotyping and in-group bias against an older applicant was demonstrated, the intervention was found to have no effect in changing evaluations of an older target relative to the control group. Results and implications for future research are discussed. post-print

This study investigated the generalizability of the Global Assessment of Relational Functioning (GARF) Scale. Found in an appendix of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders under "Criteria Sets for Axes Provided for Future Study," the GARF Scale provides a global rating of a relational unit (family or couple). Thirty-two raters assigned GARF ratings to five relational units. Generalizability analyses indicate extremely high dependability of GARF scores across raters. Higher generalizability coefficients were found for raters who had formal education in family systems theory. Overall, these results are an encouraging step towards adopting the GARF for widespread use.

This study examined the usefulness of the NEO PI-R Positive Presentation Management (PPM) scale for detecting response distortion in employment contexts. In study 1, personality and performance data from 90 customer service representatives were used to examine the possible moderating effect of positive presentation management on the personality–performance relation. In study 2, 150 students were given either job applicant or standard instructions before completing the NEO PI-R and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR). Results indicated that PPM did not moderate the personality–performance relationship; instead, it positively correlated with productivity ratings. PPM differentiated between applicant and general instruction conditions, but the BIDR Impression Management scale was more effective in this regard. And, PPM was more highly correlated with BIDR Self-Deceptive Enhancement than Impression Management. Thus, PPM may be a personality-related tendency to view oneself positively rather than an overt impression management tactic, and it may not be helpful in adjusting applicants’ personality scores for “faking”. These results emphasize the importance of construct validity studies of social desirability scales for use in employment contexts.

The arousal: cost-reward model of bystander intervention developed by Piliavin, Dovidio, Gaertner and Clark in 1981 was tested using a within-subjects “policy capturing” methodology. Four hundred and forty nine participants read 50 scenarios and reported the likelihood they would offer help. Seventy-six percent of the participants' helping judgments could be reliably described or “captured” with a linear combination of the various costs of helping and costs of not helping specified in the model. In addition, participants were relatively aware of how the costs affected their helping decisions; although female participants may have been more aware than males. These findings provide additional support for the arousal: cost-reward model and extend understanding of the cognitive algebra that occurs before individuals decide to intervene.

Within the framework of Holland's theory, we examined the use of person-environment congruence in predicting job performance for a sample of customer service representatives. It was predicted that: (1) Congruence scores based on specific environment classification derived by job analytic methods would correlate more highly with performance than congruence scores based on a more general environmental classification; (2) Congruence and cognitive ability would correlate with different aspects of performance (task v. contextual performance); and (3) Congruence scores would significantly relate to job performance, whereas interest test scores would not. No support for the first hypothesis was found. Instead, there were no significant differences between the environment typing methods, and congruence predicted Quality performance ratings. Partial support was found for the second and third hypotheses. Congruence was significantly correlated with task-related ratings, whereas cognitive ability was not significantly correlated with any performance ratings. In addition, none of the three relevant interest test scores (Conventional, Social, and Enterprising) were significantly correlated with performance. A significant negative correlation was found, however, between performance ratings and Investigative interest scores, suggesting a need for person-environment fit indices to take into account all six interest scores. Overall, this study provides some evidence that person-environment fit, when guided by theory, may be a useful predictor of job performance.

The Continuous Visual Memory Test (CVMT) employs complex ambiguous designs and a recognition format to assess visual memory. The CVMT has proven sensitive to effects of head trauma, Alzheimer's Disease, unilateral right-hemisphere CVA, and normal aging. Recently, an alternate form for the CVMT was developed. This study examined the equivalence of Forms I and II. Subjects were 40 normal adults and 52 patients of mixed neurological and psychiatric etiology. Subjects were administered both forms of the CVMT. Data analysis revealed no significant differences between forms for either the acquisition or delayed tasks. Generalizability coefficients ranged from .45 to .72. Variance attributable to differences in CVMT form was essentially zero. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that age but not education or gender significantly predicted all CVMT scores.

On November 7, 1991, Earvin (“Magic”) Johnson, Jr., announced that he was HIV positive. At the time of this announcement, the authors had just finished collecting data on subjects’ willingness to help a person with the AIDS virus (PWA). These preannouncement data were compared to data collected 1 week, 2/12 months, and months after the announcement. It was predicted that in the week immediately after the disclosure, helping of the PWA would increase significantly, but, over time, helping would return to the preannouncement level. This hypothesis was confirmed; in the week following the announcement, the percentage of men who offered help and the amount of help offered by men and women increased significantly. Four and one-half months after the announcement, helping was back to preannouncement levels. No consistent pattern of changes in affective reactions to the PWA were found. The results were discussed within the context of Kelman's (1958) theory of the different processes of attitude and behavior change and Petty and Cacioppo's (1986) elaboration likelihood model of persuasion.

Much of the research on the effects of age in the workplace has ignored the role of contextual factors, and the intersection of multiple group identities. In seeking to address these shortcomings, we provide a theoretical integration and review. First, we review the literature on contextual factors that determine age salience. We then provide a review of the major and competing theories on the consequences of multiple subordinate group status on work outcomes. Finally, we seek to integrate these multiple streams of thought into a unified framework, by identifying when and how competing aspects of group membership become salient, and the consequences of category membership constellations for various subgroups of older workers. A theoretical framework and accompanying propositions are presented.