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Proposes and tests a model that deals with, from a cultural standpoint, undergraduate students' willingness to approach or avoid social interaction. Hypothesizes that culture-level individualism increases one's construal of self as independent which leads to a higher degree of argumentativeness and a lower level of communication apprehension. Concludes the hypothesis may be an accurate depiction of verbal communication predispositions. (SG)

Presents simple and direct demonstrations showing why basic measurement principles require that biases in data created by measurement error be removed. Refutes common objections to the correction for these biases. Also describes substantive psychological processes responsible for some types of measurement error. (SLD)

Determines whether attitudinal relevance substantially affects the magnitude of the correlation between attitudes and behavior and whether the effects are content free. Finds a strong overall attitude-behavior relationship when methodological artifacts are eliminated. Discusses implications for communication theory and practice. (RS)

Range restriction in most data sets is indirect, but the meta-analysis methods used to date have applied the correction for direct range restriction to data in which range restriction is indirect. The authors show that this results in substantial undercorrections for the effects of range restriction, and they present meta-analysis methods for making accurate corrections when range restriction is indirect. Applying these methods to a well-known large-sample empirical database, the authors estimate that previous meta-analyses have underestimated the correlation between general mental ability and job performance by about 25%, indicating that this is potentially an important methodological issue in meta-analysis in general. Keywords: range restriction, indirect range restriction, bias corrections, data analysis

This article summarizes the practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research in personnel selection. On the basis of meta-analytic findings, this article presents the validity of 19 selection procedures for predicting job performance and training performance and the validity of paired combinations of general mental ability (GMA) and the 18 other selection procedures. Overall, the 3 combinations with the highest multivariate validity and utility for job performance were GMA plus a work sample test (mean validity of .63), GMA plus an integrity test (mean validity of .65), and GMA plus a structured interview (mean validity of .63). A further advantage of the latter 2 combinations is that they can be used for both entry level selection and selection of experienced employees. The practical utility implications of these summary findings are substantial. The implications of these research findings for the development of theories of job performance are discussed.

The methodological war between industrial-organizational (I/O) 'hardheads' and organizational development (OD) 'softheads' has persisted throughout the 20th century and shows no signs of abatement. This article proposes grounds for a truce in this war by (a) explaining the fundamental trade-offs between 'hard-headed' and 'soft-headed' research; and (b) showing how an empirical test for bias that has been used by hardheads to criticize the 'quality' of OD research is itself flawed. Bias studies test the hypothesis of 'positive findings' bias, which predicts that OD studies with 'low quality' should have larger study outcomes than studies with 'high quality.' Methods used by hardheads to test for bias, however, actually operate against finding support for the positive findings hypothesis. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not 'self-construals' (Markus & Kitayama, 1991) are an aspect of culture that accounts for the perceived importance of conversational constraints. To spell out the way in which culture influences communication styles, we developed a mediation model. The model assumes that the perceived importance of conversational constraints is determined by values, e.g., independent versus interdependent self-construals, and that values (self-construals) are determined in part by culture. Participants were 972 undergraduates studying in Korea, Japan, Hawai'i, and the mainland United States. After being presented with six situations, participants rated the perceived importance of each of three constraints in relation to each situation. They then completed a scale reflecting the independent and interdependent dimensions of their self-construals. The results were consistent with the proposed mediation model. Culture-level individualism influenced independent self-construals, which, in turn, correlated positively with the two outcome-oriented conversational constraints. The study also showed that culture-level collectivism affects interdependent self-construals, and, in turn, correlated positively with the three relational constraints. Of the various self-construal patterns, individuals simultaneously maintaining high independent and high interdependent construals ('biculturals') had the highest totals for the importance ratings of all the constraints combined, even though the mean for biculturals did not significantly differ from the mean for interdependents (low independent and high interdependent self-construals).

Literature reviewers have drawn dramatically different conclusions about the effectiveness of management by objectives (MBO). Some reviewers drew quite optimistic conclusions about the value of MBO; others drew pessimistic and/or highly qualified conclusions. Reviewers who pessimistic conclusions discarded studies that had 'low quality' for one reason or another, whereas reviewers who drew optimistic conclusions were more comprehensive in approach. The studies that were discarded by reviewers were found to be run in contexts in which MBO was much more likely to succeed. The discard of study evidence because reviewers believed it had 'low quality' was in this case a prescription for error. Indeed, in most research domains, hypotheses about which study features constitute 'low quality' should probably be regarded as false. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)