Selected Publications (by year)
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In Press
Ackerman, P. L., & Kanfer, R. (in press). Test length and cognitive fatigue: an empirical examination of performance effects and examinee reactions. To appear in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied.
Ackerman, P. L. (in press). Personality and intelligence. To appear in P. J. Corr & G. Matthews (Eds.) Cambridge Handbook of Personality (pp. 162-174). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ackerman, P. L. (in press). On weaving personality into a tapestry of traits. To appear in British Journal of Psychology.
Ackerman, P. L. (in press). Personality and cognition. To appear in: Kreitler, S. (Ed.). Cognition and motivation: Forging an interdisciplinary perspective. Cambridge University Press.
Ackerman, P. L. (in press). Skill acquisition. To appear in I. B. Weiner & W. E. Craighead (Eds). Corsini’s Encyclopedia of Psychology, Fourth Edition. New York: Wiley.
2008
Ackerman, P. L. (2008). Knowledge and cognitive aging. In F. Craik & T. Salthouse (Eds.) The Handbook of Aging and Cognition: Third Edition, (pp. 443-489). New York: Psychology Press.
Kanfer, R. & Ackerman, P. L. (2008). Aging and work motivation. In C. Wankel (Ed.) Handbook of 21st Century Management, (pp. 160-169). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ackerman, P. L., Kanfer, R., & Wolman, S. D. (2008). Effects of total SAT test time on performance and fatigue. . College Board Research Note #RN-37. New York: College Board.
2007
Ackerman, P. L. (2007). New developments in understanding skilled performance. Current Directions in Psychological Research, 16, (pp.235-239).
Ackerman, P. L. (2007). Bridging science and application. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 13, (pp.179-181).
Ackerman, P. L. (2007). Knowledge, abilities, and will. In J. S. Carlson, & J. R. Levin (Eds.). Educating the Evolved Mind: Conceptual foundations for an Evolutionary Educational Psychology (pp. 101-108). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
Ackerman, P. L., & Beier, M. E. (2007). Further explorations of perceptual speed abilities, in the context of assessment methods, cognitive abilities and individual differences during skill acquisition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 13, 249-272.
Ackerman, P. L. (2007). Aptitude Test. In N.J. Salkind (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics (pp.39-43).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ackerman, P. L., & Wolman, S.D. (2007).Determinants and validity of self-estimates of abilities and self-concept measures.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 13, 57-78.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Beier, M.E., & Ackerman, P.L. (2007). Cognitive abilities in personnel selection and testing (pp. 605-627). In F. Durso, R. Nickerson, S. Dumais, S.Lewandowsky, & T. Perfect (Eds.), Handbook of Applied COgnition (2nd Ed). NY: Wiley.
Voelkle, M.C., Ackerman, P.L., & Wittmann, W.W. (2007). Effect sizes and F-ratios below 1.0: Sense or nonsense.Methodology: European Journal of Research Methods for the Behavioral and Social Sciences,3, 35-46.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Voelkle, M.C., Wittmann, W.W., & Ackerman, P.L. (2007). Abilities and skill acquisition: A latent growth curve approach. Learning and Individual Differences, 16, 303-319.VIEW
ABSTRACT
2006
Ackerman, P. L. (2006). Personality,
trait complexes, and adult intelligence. In A. Eliasz,
S. Hampson, & B. de Raad (Eds.) Advances in Personality,
Volume II (pp.91-112), New York: Psychology Press.
Ackerman, P. L. (2006).Cognitive sex differences and mathematics and science achievement. American Psychologist, 61, 722-723.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P.L., & Beier, M.E. (2006).Determinants of domain knowledge and independent study learning in an adult sample. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 366-381.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P. L. & Beier, M.E. (2006). Methods for studying the structure of expertise: psychometric approaches. In A. Ericsson, P. Feltovich, N. Charness, & R.R. Hoffman (Eds.) Cambridge Handbook on Expertise and Expert Performance (pp.147-166). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Ackerman, P. L. & Lohman, D.F. (2006). Individual differences in cognitive functions. In P.A. Alexander, P.R. Pintrich, & P.H. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of Educational Psychology, 2nd Edition (pp.139-161). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Furnham, A., & Ackerman, P. L. (2006).Ability and personality correlates of general knowledge. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 419-429.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Furnham, A., & Ackerman, P. L. (2006).Incremental validity of typical intellectual engagement as predictor of different academic performance measures. Journal of Personality Assessment, 87, 261-268.VIEW
ABSTRACT
2005
Ackerman, P. L.
(2005). Ability determinants of individual differences in skilled performance. In Sternberg, R. J., & Pretz, J. E.
(Eds.) Cognition and Intelligence: Identifying the Mechanisms of the Mind (pp. 142-159). NY: Cambridge University Press.
Ackerman, P. L., & Beier, M. E. (2005). Knowledge and Intelligence. In O. Wilhelm, & R. Engle (Eds.) Handbook of understanding and measuring intelligence. (pp. 125-139). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ackerman, P. L., Beier, M. E., & Boyle, M. O. (2005). Working memory and intelligence: The same or different constructs? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 30-60.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P. L., & Kanfer, R. (2005). Trait Complexes, learning, and Brunswik Symmetry. In A. Beuducel, B. Biehl, M. Bosnjak, W. Conrad, G. Schonberger, & D. Wagener (Eds.), Multivariate Research Strategies: Fetschrift in honor of Werner W. Wittmann. (pp. 21-38). Aachen, Germany: Shaker Verlag.
Beier, M. E., & Ackerman, P. L. (2005). Age, ability and the role of prior knowledge on the acquisition of new domain knowledge.Psychology and Aging,20, 341-355.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Beier, M. E., & Ackerman, P. L. (2005). Working memory and
intelligence: Different constructs. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 72-75.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Chen, G.,Kirkman, B. L., Kanfer, R. & Allen, D. (2005). A multilevel, quasi-experimental study of leadership, empowerment, and performance in teams.Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings.
Heggestad, E. D., & Kanfer, R. (2005). The predictive validity of self-efficacy in training performance: Little more than past performance.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 11 , 84-97.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer, R. (2005). Emotions in work place. In Roberts & J. Minsky
(Eds.), Proceedings from the ETS and ARI Emotional Intelligence Workshop (Vol. 3,pp. 98-136). Princeton NJ: Educational Testing Service.
Kanfer, R. (2005). Self Regulation in work and I/O Psychology.Applied Psychology: An International Review, 54, 186-191.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer, R. (2005). When to leave the table.TIP The Industrial/Organizational Psychologist. Bowling Green, Ohio: Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 74. 74-76.
Kanfer, R., & Ackerman, P. L. (2005). Work competence: A person-oriented perspective. In A. J. Elliot & C.S. Dweck
(Eds.) Handbook of Competence and Motivation (pp. 336-353). NY: Guilford Publications.
Morris, M. G., Venkatesh, V., & Ackerman, P. L. (2005). Gender and age differences in employee decisions about new technology: An extension to the theory of planned behavior. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 52 (pp. 69-84).
Wolf, M. B., & Ackerman, P. L. (2005). Extraversion and intelligence: A meta-analtic invenstigation.Personality and Indiviual Differences,39, 531-542.VIEW
ABSTRACT
2004
Ackerman, P. L., & Kanfer, R. (2004). Cognitive, affective,
and conative aspects of adult intellect within a typical and maximal performance
framework. In D. Y. Dai & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.) Motivation, emotion, and
cognition: Integrated perspectives on intellectual functioning (pp. 119-141).
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Beier, M.E. & Ackerman, P.L. (2004). A reapprasial of the relationship between span memory and intelligence via "best evidence synthesis." Intelligence: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 32(6), 607-619.VIEW ABSTRACT
Franco, L.M., Bennett, S., Kanfer, R., & Stubblebine, P. (2004). Determinants and
consequences of health worker motivation in hospitals in Jordan and Georgia. Social Science and
Medicine, 58, 343-355.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Boyle, M. O., & Ackerman, P. L. (2004). Individual
differences in skill acquisition. In A. M. Williams, N. J. Hodges, M. A. Scott,
& M. L. J. Court (Eds). Skill acquisition in sport: Research, theory and
practice (pp. 84-102). Taylor and Francis/Routledge.
Kanfer, R., & Ackerman, P. L. (2004). Aging, adult development
and work motivation. Academy of Management Review, 29(3), 440-458.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Sykes, T. A., & Ackerman, P. L.
(2004). Individual reactions to new technologies in the workplace: The role of
gender as a psychological construct. Journal of Applied Social Psychology,
34(3), 445-467.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P. L. (January, 2004). Remembrance of Lloyd G. Humphreys. American Psychological Society Observer.
Ackerman, P. L., & Humphreys, M. S. (2004). Obituary: Lloyd G. Humphreys.American Psychologist, 59,637-638.
2003
Ackerman, P. L. (2003). Aptitude complexes and trait complexes. Educational
Psychologist, 38, 85-93. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P. L. (2003). Cognitive ability and non-ability trait determinants of
expertise. Educational Researcher, 32(8), 15-20.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P. L., & Beier, M. E. (2003).
Intelligence, personality, and interests in the career choice
process. Journal of Career Assessment, 11(2), 205-218.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P. L., & Beier, M. E. (2003).
Trait complexes, cognitive investment and domain knowledge. Chapter
in R. J. Sternberg & E. L. Grigorenko (Eds.). Perspectives
on the psychology of abilities, competencies, and expertise.
(pp. 1-30). NY: Cambridge University Press.
Ackerman, P. L. & Lohman, D. F. (2003).
Education and g. Chapter in H. Nyborg (Ed.). The scientific
study of general intelligence -- Tribute to Arthur R. Jensen
(pp. 275-292). Amsterdam: Pergamon/Elsevier Science.
Beier, M. E., & Ackerman, P. L. (2003).
Determinants of health knowledge: An investigation of age, gender,
abilities, personality, and interests. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 84(2), 439-448. VIEW
ABSTRACT
2002
Ackerman, P. L. (2002). Editorial. Journal
of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 8(1), 3-5.
Ackerman, P. L. (2002). Gender differences
in intelligence and knowledge: How should we look at achievement
score differences? Issues in Education: Contributions from
Educational Psychology, 8(1), 21-29.
Ackerman, P. L. (2002). Cognitive processes:
Historical perspective. In R. Fernandez-Ballesteros (Ed.) Encyclopedia
of Psychological Assessment (pp. 241-244). London: Sage.
Ackerman, P. L., Beier, M. B., & Bowen,
K. R. (2002). What we really know about our abilities and our
knowledge. Personality and Individual Differences, 34,
587-605. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P. L., Beier,
M. E., & Boyle, M. O. (2002). Individual differences in working
memory within a nomological network of cognitive and perceptual
speed abilities. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,
131, 567-589. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P. L., & Cianciolo,
A. T. (2002). Ability and task constraint determinants of complex
task performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied,
8(3), 194-208. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer,
R., & Kantrowitz, T. M. (2002). Ability and non-ability predictors
of performance. In S. Sonnentag (Ed.), Psychological Management
of Individual Performance: A Handbook in the Psychology of Management
in Organizations. Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons,
Ltd.
Kanfer,
R., and Kantrowitz, T. M. (2002). Emotion regulation: Command
and Control of emotions in work life. In R. Lord, R. Klimoski,
& R. Kanfer (Eds.), Emotions in the Workplace: Understanding
the Structure and Role of Emotions in Organizational Behavior
(pp. 443-472). San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass.
Lord, R., & Kanfer, R. (2002). Emotions
and Organizational Behavior. In R. Lord, R. Klimoski, & R.
Kanfer (Eds.), Emotions in the Workplace: Understanding the
Structure and Role of Emotions in Organizational Behavior (pp.5-19).
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Franco,
L. M.,Bennett, S., & Kanfer, R. (2002). Health sector
reform and public sector health work motivation: A conceptual
framework. Social Science and Medicine, 54, 1255-1266.
2001
Ackerman, P. L. (2001). Adult intelligence from
knowledge and trait complex perspectives. In R. K. Silbereisen
and M. Reitzle (Eds.) Bericht über den 42. Kongreß
der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie in Jena 2000.
(pp. 57-64.) Berlin: Pabst
Ackerman,
P. L., Beier, M. B., & Bowen, K. R. (2001). What
we really know about our abilities and our knowledge. Personality
and Individual Differences.
Ackerman,
P. L., Beier, M. E., & Bowen, K. R. (2000 [published 4/01]).
Explorations of crystallized intelligence: Completion tests,
cloze tests and knowledge. Learning and Individual Differences:
A Multidisciplinary Journal in Education, 12, 105-121..
VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman,
P. L., Bowen, K. R., Beier, M. B., & Kanfer, R. (2001). Determinants
of individual differences and gender differences in knowledge.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 797-825.
VIEW
ABSTRACT
Beier,
M. E., & Ackerman, P. L. (2001). Current events knowledge
in adults: An investigation of age, intelligence and non-ability
determinants. Psychology and Aging, 16, 615-628. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer, R. (2001). I/O
Psychology: Working at the basic-applied psychology interface.
Applied Psychology: An International Review, 235-240.
Kanfer, R. (2001). Motivation and self-regulation:
A trait-skill conceptualization. In Bericht über
den 42. Knogreß der Deutschen Gesellschaft für
Psychologie in Jena 2000. Berlin, Germany: Pabst Publishers.
Kanfer,
R., Wanberg, C., & Kantrowitz, T. M. (2001). Job search and
employment: A personality-motivational analysis and meta-analytic
review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 837-855.
VIEW
ABSTRACT
2000
Ackerman,
P. L. (2000). A reappraisal of the ability determinants of individual
differences in skilled performance. Psychologische Beiträge,
42, 4-17. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P. L. (2000). Aptitude Tests.
In A. E. Kazdin (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Psychology.
Washington D.C./New York, NY: American Psychological Association/Oxford
University Press.
Ackerman, P. L.
(2000). Domain-specific knowledge as the "dark matter"
of adult intelligence: gf/gc, personality and interest correlates.
Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 55B(2),
P69-P84. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman,
P. L., & Cianciolo, A. T. (2000). Cognitive, perceptual speed,
and psychomotor determinants of individual differences during
skill acquisition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied,
6, 259-290. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Heggestad, E.D., & Kanfer, R. (2000).
Individual differences in trait motivation: Development of the
Motivational Trait Questionnaire. International Journal
of Educational Research, 33, 751-776.
Kanfer,
R., & Ackerman, P. L. (2000). Individual differences in work
motivation: Further explorations of a trait framework.
Applied Psychology: An International Review, 49(3), 470-482.
VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer, R., & McCombs, B. L. (2000).
Motivation: Applying current theory to critical issues in training.
In S. Tobias & J.D. Fletcher (Eds.), Training and retraining:
A handbook for business, government, and the military (pp.
85-108). New York: Macmillan.
Venkatesh,
V., Morris, M., & Ackerman, P. L. (2000). A longitudinal
field investigation of gender differences in individual technology
adoption decision making processes. Organizational Behavior
and Human Decision Processes, 83, 33-60. VIEW ABSTRACT
Wanberg,
C., Kanfer, R., & Banas, J. T. (2000). Predictors and outcomes
of networking behavior among unemployed job seekers. Journal
of Applied Psychology, 85, 491-503. VIEW ABSTRACT
1999
Ackerman, P. L.
(1999). Review of A. R. Jensen (1998). The g factor:
The Science of Mental Ability. In The Annals of
The American Academy of Political and Social Science, 563,
235-236.
Ackerman,
P. L. (1999). Traits and knowledge as determinants of learning
and individual differences: Putting it all together. Chapter
in P. L. Ackerman, P. C. Kyllonen, & R. D. Roberts (Eds.),
Learning and Individual Differences: Process, Trait, and Content
Determinants. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Ackerman,
P. L., & Cianciolo, A. T. (1999). Psychomotor abilities via
touchpanel testing: Measurement innovations, construct, and criterion
validity. Human Performance, 12, 231-273. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P. L., Kyllonen, P.C., &
Roberts, R.D. (Eds.) (1999). Learning and Individual
Differences: Process, Trait, and Content Determinants.
Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Ackerman, P.
L. & Rolfhus, E. L. (1999). The locus of adult intelligence:
Knowledge, abilities, and non-ability traits. Psychology
and Aging, 14, 314-330. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer, R. (1999).
Measuring Health Worker Motivation in Developing Countries.
Partnerships for Health Reform Project Technical Report.
Bethesda, MD.
Kanfer,
R. & Heggestad, E. (1999). Individual differences in
motivation: Traits and self-regulatory skills. In P. L.
Ackerman, P.C. Kyllonen, and R.D. Roberts (Eds.), Learning
and Individual Differences: Process, Trait, and Content
Determinants (pp. 293-309). Washington, D.C.: American
Psychological Association.
Rolfhus,
E. L., & Ackerman, P. L. (1999). Assessing individual differences
in knowledge: Knowledge structures and traits. Journal of
Educational Psychology, 91, 511-526. VIEW ABSTRACT
Wanberg,
C., Kanfer, R., & Rotondo, M. (1999). Unemployed individuals:
Motives, job-search competencies, and job-search constraints
as predictors of job seeking and reemployment. Journal of
Applied Psychology, 84, 897-910.VIEW ABSTRACT
1998
Ackerman,
P. L. (1998). Adult intelligence: Sketch of a theory and applications
to learning & education, pp. 143-156. In M. C. Smith &
T. Pourchot (Eds.) Adult learning and development: Perspectives
from educational psychology. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
1997
Ackerman,
P. L. (1997). Personality, self-concept, interests, and intelligence:
Which construct doesn't fit? Journal of Personality, 65(2),
171-204. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P. L. (1997). What's intelligence
got to do with it? A review of E. Hunt (1995). Will
we be smart enough?: A cognitive task analysis of the coming
workplace. Contemporary Psychology, 42, 692-695.
Ackerman,
P. L., & Heggestad, E. D. (1997). Intelligence, personality,
and interests: Evidence for overlapping traits. Psychological
Bulletin, 121, 219-245. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer,
R. & Heggestad, E. (1997). Motivational traits and skills:
A person-centered approach to work motivation. In L. L. Cummings
and B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior, 19, 1-57. JAI Press, Greenwich, CT. VIEW
ABSTRACT
1996
Ackerman, P.
L. (1996). A theory of adult intellectual development: process,
personality, interests, and knowledge. Intelligence, 22,
229-259. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman,
P. L. (1996). Intelligence as process and knowledge: An integration
for adult development and application. In W. A. Rogers,
A. D. Fisk, & N. Walker (Eds.), Aging and skilled performance:
Advances in theory and applications (pp. 139-156).
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Goska,
R. E., & Ackerman, P. L. (1996). An aptitude-treatment interaction
approach to transfer within training. Journal of Educational
Psychology, 88, 249-259. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer, R., (1996).
Learning from failure: It's not easy. Psychological
Inquiry, 7, 50-53.
Kanfer, R. (1996).
Motivation. In N. Nicholson (Ed.), The Blackwell Encyclopedia
Dictionary of Organizational Behavior (pp. 331-334).
Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Kanfer,
R. (1996). Motivation and performance. In N. Nicholson
(Ed.), The Blackwell Encyclopedia Dictionary of Organizational
Behavior (pp. 334-336). Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Kanfer,
R. (1996). Self-regulatory and other non-ability determinants
of skill acquisition. In J. A. Bargh & P. M. Gollwitzer (Eds.),
The Psychology of Action: Linking Cognition and Motivation
to Behavior (pp. 404-423). New York: Guilford.
Kanfer,
R., & Ackerman, P. L. (1996). A self-regulatory skills perspective
to reducing cognitive interference. In I. G. Sarason, B. R. Sarason,
& G. R. Pierce (Eds.), Cognitive interference: Theories,
methods, and findings (pp. 153-171). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kanfer,
R., Ackerman, P. L., & Heggestad, E. D. (1996). Motivational
skills & self-regulation for learning: A trait perspective.
Learning and Individual Differences, 8, 185-209. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Murtha,
T. C., Kanfer, R., & Ackerman, P. L. (1996). Towards an interactionist
taxonomy of personality and situations: An integrative situational-dispositional
representation of personality traits. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 71, 193-207. VIEW ABSTRACT
Rolfhus,
E. L., & Ackerman, P. L. (1996). Self-report knowledge: At
the crossroads of ability, interest, and personality. Journal
of Educational Psychology, 88, 174-188. VIEW ABSTRACT
Schneider,
R. J., Ackerman, P. L., & Kanfer, R. (1996). To "act
wisely in human relations:" Exploring the dimensions of
social competence. Personality and Individual Differences,
21, 469-481. VIEW
ABSTRACT
1995
Ackerman,
P. L., Kanfer, R., & Goff, M. (1995). Cognitive and non-cognitive
determinants and consequences of complex skill acquisition. Journal
of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 1, 270-304. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer,
R., Ackerman, P. L., Murtha, T., & Goff, M. (1995). Personality
and intelligence in industrial and organizational psychology.
In D. H. Saklofske & M. Zeidner (Eds.), International
Handbook of Personality and Intelligence, (pp. 577-602.) New
York: Plenum.
1994
Ackerman,
P. L. (1994). Intelligence, attention, and learning: Maximal
and typical performance. Chapter in D. K. Detterman (Ed.) Current
Topics in Human Intelligence; Volume 4: Theories of Intelligence,
(pp. 1-27.) Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Ackerman,
P. L., & Goff, M. (1994) Typical intellectual engagement
and personality: Reply to Rocklin (1994). Journal of Educational
Psychology, 86, 150-153. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman,
P. L., & Woltz, D. J. (1994). Determinants of learning and
performance in an associative memory/substitution task: Task
constraints, individual differences, and volition. Journal
of Educational Psychology, 86, 487-515. VIEW ABSTRACT
Kanfer,
R., Ackerman, P. L., Murtha, T. C., Dugdale, B., & Nelson,
L. (1994). Goal Setting, Conditions of practice, and task performance:
A resource allocation perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology,
79, 826-835. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer,
R., Dugdale, B., & McDonald, B. (1994). Empirical findings
on the Action Control Scale in the context of complex skill acquisition.
In J. Kuhl & J. Beckmann (Eds.), Volition and personality:
Action- and state-oriented modes of control (pp. 61-77).
Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers.
Leon,
G., Kanfer, R., Hoffman, R. G., & Dupre, L. (1994).
Group processes and task effectiveness in a Soviet-American expedition
team. Environment and Behavior, 26, 149-165.
VIEW
ABSTRACT
1993
Ackerman, P.
L. (1993). You're in the army now! A review of D.
Druckman & R. A. Bjork (Eds.) (1991). In the mind's
eye: Enhancing human performance. Contemporary Psychology,
38, 747-748.
Ackerman,
P. L., & Kanfer, R. (1993). Integrating laboratory and field
study for improving selection: Development of a battery for predicting
air traffic controller success. Journal of Applied Psychology,
78, 413-432. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Corno, L., & Kanfer, R. (1993). The role of
volition in learning and performance. In L. Darling-Hammond (Ed.),
Review of Research in Education, 21, 301-341.
Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock Publishers.
Kanfer, R. (1993). Education from
a workplace perspective: Issues of self-management. Resources
in Education ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 348-717.
1992
Ackerman, P. L.
(1992). Human intelligence. In S. C. Shapiro (Ed.)
Encyclopedia of artificial intelligence (pp. 706-715).
New York: Wiley.
Ackerman, P.
L. (1992). Predicting individual differences in complex skill
acquisition: Dynamics of ability determinants. Journal of
Applied Psychology, 77, 598-614. VIEW ABSTRACT
Goff,
M., & Ackerman, P. L. (1992). Personality-intelligence relations:
Assessing typical intellectual engagement. Journal of Educational
Psychology, 84, 537-552. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Johnson, D. S., & Kanfer, R. (1992). Goal-performance
relations: The effects of initial task complexity and task practice.
Motivation and Emotion, 16, 117-141.VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer, R. (1992). Work motivation: New directions
in theory and research. In C. L. Cooper & I. T. Robertson
(Eds.), International Review of Industrial and Organizational
Psychology, 7, 1-53. London: John Wiley & Sons,
Ltd. Reprinted in C. L. Cooper
and I. T. Robertson (Eds.)(1994). Key Reviews in Managerial
Psychology. Concepts and Research for Practice.
New York: John Wiley & Sons.
1991
Ackerman,
P. L., & Humphreys, L. G. (1991). Individual differences
theory in industrial and organizational psychology. Chapter in
M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.) Handbook of industrial
and organizational psychology, 1, 223 - 282.
Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Ackerman,
P. L., & Kyllonen, P. C. (1991). Trainee characteristics.
Chapter in J. E. Morrison (Ed.) Training for performance:
Principles of applied human learning (pp. 193-229). West
Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Kanfer, R. (1991).
It's a goal, goal, goal setting world. Review of a theory
of goal setting and task performance by E. A. Locke and G. P.
Latham. Contemporary Psychology, 36, 847-848.
Kanfer, R., & Kanfer, F. H. (1991). Goals and
self-regulation: Applications of theory to work settings. In
M. L. Maehr & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Advances in Motivation
and Achievement, 7, 287-326. Greenwich, CT: JAI
Press.
Leon, G., Kanfer,
R., Hoffman, R. G., & Dupre, L. (1991). Interrelationships
of personality, coping, and group processes in a Soviet-American
expedition team. Journal of Research in Personality, 25,
357-371.VIEW
ABSTRACT
1990
Ackerman,
P. L. (1990). A correlational analysis of skill specificity:
Learning, abilities, and individual differences. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 16,
883-901. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P. L.
(1990). Coffee, tea,...or tragedy? A review of E.
L. Weiner & D. C. Nagel (Eds.) (1988). Human factors
in aviation. Contemporary Psychology, 35, 394-395.
Kanfer, R. (1990). Motivation and Individual Differences
in Learning: An Integration of Developmental, Differential, and
Cognitive Perspectives. Learning and Individual Differences,
2, 221-239.VIEW ABSTRACT
Kanfer, R. (1990). Motivation theory and
Industrial/Organizational psychology. In M.D. Dunnette
and L. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational
psychology. Volume I. Theory in industrial and organizational
psychology (pp. 75-170). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting
Psychologists Press.
Lind, E. A., Kanfer, R.,
& Earley, P. C. (1990). Voice, control, and procedural justice:
Instrumental and noninstrumental concerns in fairness judgments.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 952-959.VIEW ABSTRACT
1989
Ackerman, P.
L. (1989). Abilities, elementary information processes,
and other sights to see at the zoo. In R. Kanfer, P. L.
Ackerman, & R. Cudeck (Eds.) Abilities, motivation, and
methodology: The Minnesota symposium on learning and individual
differences (pp. 281-293). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Ackerman, P.
L. (1989). Individual differences and skill acquisition. In P.
L. Ackerman, R. J. Sternberg, & R. Glaser (Eds.). Learning
and individual differences: Advances in theory and research
(pp. 165-217). New York: W. H. Freeman.
Ackerman,
P. L. (1989). Within-task intercorrelations of skilled performance:
Implications for predicting individual differences? Journal
of Applied Psychology, 74, 360-364. VIEW ABSTRACT
Ackerman,
L., & Ackerman P. L. (1989). Generational differences
and parent-child resemblance in achievement motives and locus
of control: A cross-sectional analysis. Personality
and Individual Differences, 10, 1237-1242. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman, P. L., Sternberg,
R. J., & Glaser, R. (Eds.) (1989). Learning and
individual differences: Advances in theory and research.
New York: W. H. Freeman.
Kanfer, R.
(1989). Non-cognitive processes, dispositions, and performance:
Connecting the dots within and across paradigms. In R.
Kanfer, P. L. Ackerman, & R. Cudeck (Eds.), Abilities,
Motivation, and Methodology: The Minnesota Symposium on Learning
and Individual Differences (pp. 375-388). Hillsdale,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Kanfer,
R., & Ackerman, P. L. (1989). Dynamics of skill acquisition:
Building a bridge between abilities and motivation. In
R.J. Sternberg (Ed.), Advances in the psychology of human
intelligence. Volume V (pp. 99-134). Hillsdale,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Kanfer,
R., & Ackerman, P. L. (1989). Motivation and cognitive abilities:
An integrative/aptitude-treatment interaction approach to skill
acquisition. Journal of Applied Psychology - Monograph, 74,
657-690. VIEW
ABSTRACT Reprinted in C.
L. Cooper (Ed.)(1991). Industrial and Organizational Psychology:
Volume I (pp. 66-99). Hants, England: Edward Elgar
Publishing.
Kanfer, R., Ackerman, P.
L., & Cudeck, R. (Eds.)(1989). Abilities, motivation,
and methodology: The Minnesota Symposium on Learning and Individual
Differences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Paese, P.
W., Lind, E. A., & Kanfer, R. (1989). Procedural fairness
and work group responses to performance evaluation systems. Social
Justice Research, 2, 193-205.VIEW ABSTRACT
1988
Ackerman, P.
L. (1988). A review of L. S. Gottfredson (Ed.) The g
factor in employment. Journal of Vocational Behavior (Special
Issue) Educational and Psychological Measurement, 48, 553-558.
Ackerman,
P. L. (1988). Determinants of individual differences during skill
acquisition: Cognitive abilities and information processing.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 117, 288-318.
VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ahrens,
T., Zeiss, A., & Kanfer, R. (1988). Dysphoric deficits
in interpersonal standards, self-efficacy, and social comparison.
Cognitive Therapy and Research, 12, 53-67. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Fisk, A.
D., & Ackerman, P. L. (1988). Effects of type responding
on memory/visual search: Responding just "yes" or just
"no" can lead to inflexible performance. Perception
& Psychophysics, 43, 373-379. VIEW ABSTRACT
Kanfer,
R., Crosby, J. V., & Brandt, D. M. (1988). Investigating
behavioral antecedents of turnover at three job tenure levels.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 73, 331-335.VIEW
ABSTRACT
1987
Ackerman, P.
L. (1987). Individual differences in skill learning: An integration
of psychometric and information processing perspectives. Psychological
Bulletin, 102, 3-27. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Ackerman,
P. L. (1987). Intelligence. In S. C. Shapiro (Ed.)
Encyclopedia of artificial intelligence. Vol. I (pp.
431-440). New York: Wiley.
Fisk,
A. D., Ackerman, P. L., & Schneider, W. (1987). Automatic
and controlled processing theory and its application to human
factors problems. In P. A. Hancock (Ed.) Human
factors psychology (pp. 159-197). New York: North Holland.
Kanfer,
R. (1987). Task-specific motivation: An integrative approach
to issues of measurement, mechanisms, processes, and determinants.
Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 5, 237-264.
VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer,
R., Sawyer, J., Earley, P. C., & Lind, E. A. (1987). Fairness
and participation in evaluation procedures: Effects on task attitudes
and performance. Social Justice Research, 1, 235-249.
VIEW
ABSTRACT
1986
Ackerman, P.
L. (1986). Individual differences in information processing:
An investigation of intellectual abilities and task performance
during practice. Intelligence, 10, 101-139. VIEW ABSTRACT
Kanfer,
R., & Borman, W. C. (1986). Predicting salesperson
performance: A review of the literature. (Army Project
Number 2Q263731A792; ARI Technical Report) Minneapolis, MN: Personnel
Decisions Research Institute.
1985
Ackerman,
P. L., & Schneider, W. (1985). Individual differences
in automatic and controlled information processing. In
R. F. Dillon (Ed.) Individual differences in cognition, Vol.
II (pp. 36-66). New York: Academic Press.
Drasgow,
F., & Kanfer, R. (1985). Equivalence of psychological measurement
in heterogeneous populations. Journal of Applied Psychology,
70, 662-680. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Earley,
P. C., & Kanfer, R. (1985). The influence of component participation
and role models on goal acceptance, goal satisfaction, and performance.
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 36,
378-390. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer,
R. (1985). Coping with stress. In B. N. Barge, L.
M. Hough, M.D. Dunnette, E. Kemery, R. Kanfer, J. Kamp, &
M. Cardoza. Behavioral reliability: A review of academic
literature and organizational programs (pp. 59-80).
Technical Report DNA TR 85-21. Minneapolis, MN: Personnel
Decisions Research Institute.
Kanfer,
R. (1985). The influence of work attitudes on performance motivation.
In H. T. Spitze (Ed.), Human Factors in Productivity.
Proceedings of the sixth annual Rupert N. Evans symposium
(pp. 11-30). Urbana-Champaign, IL: Office of Vocational Education
Research.
Kanfer,
R., & Hulin, C. L. (1985). Individual differences in successful
job searches following lay-off. Personnel Psychology, 38,
835-848. VIEW
ABSTRACT
1984
Ackerman,
P. L., & Schneider, W. (1984). Ramifications of practice
effects for selection and training: A new approach to individual
differences assessment. In A. Mital (Ed.) Trends in
ergonomics/human factors (pp. 287-292). North-Holland:
Elsevier.
Ackerman,
P. L., Schneider, W., & Wickens, C. D. (1984). Deciding the
existence of a time-sharing ability: A combined theoretical and
methodological approach. Human Factors, 26, 71-82. VIEW
ABSTRACT
Kanfer, R., Sawyer, J., Earley, P.C., & Lind,
E. A. (1984). Information exchange in evaluation procedures:
The effects of input and knowledge on performance and attitudes.
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 246 363. VIEW ABSTRACT
1983
Hulin, C. L., Roznowski,
M., & Kanfer, R. (1983). A multidimensional scaling of 14
Navy ratings: Input for predicting effectiveness responses.
(Tech. Rep. TR 83-1). Champaign, IL.: Department of Psychology,
University of Illinois.
Kanfer,
R., Eyberg, S., & Krahn, G. (1983). Interviewing strategies
in child assessment. In E. Walker and R. Roberts (Eds.),
Handbook of clinical child psychology (pp. 95-108).
New York: John Wiley & Sons. Updated reprint in E. Walker and R. Roberts (Eds.)(1992),
Handbook of clinical child psychology (2nd edition), pp.
49-62.
Kanfer, R., & Zeiss, A. (1983). Interpersonal
standard-setting and self-efficacy expectations in depression.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 92, 319-329. VIEW ABSTRACT
Last Revised: February
2003
Abstracts
Ackerman, P. L., & Wolman, S.D. (2007).Determinants and validity of self-estimates of abilities and self-concept measures. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 13, 57-78.<<BACK TO LIST
How accurate are self-estimates of cognitive abilities? An investigation of verbal, math, and spatial abilities is reported with a battery of parallel objective tests of abilities. Self-estimates were obtained prior to and after objective ability testing (without test feedback) in order to examine whether self-estimates change after direct objective testing experience. Self-estimates showed small to large effect-size correlations with objective tests–larger for math and smaller for verbal. The construct space of self-estimates of abilities was explored in the context of self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy, personality, interests, motivational traits, and trait complexes. Self-efficacy and self-esteem variables showed the highest correlations with self-estimates of abilities. In general, trait complexes showed the highest correlations with verbal ability self-estimates and the lowest correlations with math ability self-estimates. Results are discussed in relation to the principle of aggregation, the influences of self-evaluative judgements, and uses for self-estimates of abilities measures.
Voelkle, M.C.,Ackerman, P. L., & Wittman, W.W. (2007).Effect sizes and F-ratios below 1.0: Sense or nonsense. Methodology: European Journal of Research Methods for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, 3, 35-46. <<BACK TO LIST
Standard statistics texts indicate that the expected value of the F ratio is 1.0 (more precisely: N/(N-2)) in a completely balanced fixed-effects ANOVA, when the null hypothesis is true. Even though some authors suggest that the null hypothesis is rarely true in practice (e.g., Meehl, 1990), F ratios < 1.0 are reported quite frequently in the literature. However, standard effect size statistics (e.g., Cohen's f) often yield positive values when F < 1.0, which appears to create confusion about the meaningfulness of effect size statistics when the null hypothesis may be true. Given the repeated emphasis on reporting effect sizes, it is shown that in the face of F < 1.0 it is misleading to only report sample effect size estimates as often recommended. Causes of F ratios < 1.0 are reviewed, illustrated by a short simulation study. The calculation and interpretation of corrected and uncorrected effect size statistics under these conditions are discussed. Computing adjusted measures of association strength and incorporating effect size confidence intervals are helpful in an effort to reduce confusion surrounding results when sample sizes are small. Detailed recommendations are directed to authors, journal editors, and reviewers.
Voelkle, M.C., Wittman, W.W., & Ackerman, P.L. (2007).Abilities and skill acquisition: A latent growth curve approach. Learning and Individual Differences, 16, 303-319. <<BACK TO LIST
The relationship between abilities and skill acquisition has been the subject of numerous controversies in psychology. However,while most researchers implicitly or explicitly accept the idea that abilities and skill acquisition should be related, empirical
research has failed to provide evidence for a consistently strong correlation between the two constructs. Based on the reanalysis of a study on skill acquisition using the air traffic controller task TRACON [Ackerman, P. L., Kanfer, R., and Goff, M. (1995).Cognitive and Noncognitive Determinants and Consequences of Complex Skill Acquisition. Journal of Experimental Psychology.
Applied, 1(4), 270–304], it will be shown how latent growth curve modeling can help to gain a better understanding of the relationship between human abilities and skill acquisition. A brief introduction into the basic concepts of latent growth curve modeling will be given, particularly with regard to the advantages for the analysis of skill acquisition and its determinants. The goal
is thereby to provide evidence for a much closer association than commonly assumed and to offer a new, differential, perspective formerly obscured by traditional between-subject analyses.
© 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Ackerman, P. L. (2006).Cognitive sex differences and mathematics and science achievement. American Psychologist, 61, 722-723.<<BACK TO LIST
Comments on the original article "Sex Differences in Intrinsic Aptitude for Mathematics and Science?: A Critical Review," by E. S. Spelke (see record 2005-15840-001). Spelke considered "three claims that cognitive sex differences account for the differential representation of men and women in high-level careers in mathematics and science." The focus of this comment is on the claim regarding gender differences in mean levels of cognitive abilities. Spelke claimed (p. 954) that "most investigators of sex differences have concluded that males and females have equal cognitive ability, with somewhat different profiles." There are two major components to this comment. The first is mainly theoretical, and the second is both theoretical and empirical.
Ackerman, P. L., & Beier, M.E.(2006).Determinants of domain knowledge and independent study learning in an adult sample.Journal of Educational Psychology, 98,366-381. <<BACK TO LIST
The ability (fluid and crystallized intelligence) and nonability (personality, interests, self-concept, etc.) determinants of domain knowledge before and after an independent learning opportunity were evaluated in the context of a study of 141 adults between the ages of 18 and 69. The domain knowledge under consideration included an array of financial issues, including financial planning, retirement planning, debt management, and educational savings accounts. Crystallized intelligence was a stronger predictor than fluid intelligence of domain knowledge prior to learning, and nonability traits provided significant incremental predictive validity. After learning, fluid intelligence showed a marked increase in the prediction of domain knowledge, but the final correlation did not exceed that of crystallized intelligence. Implications for optimizing the prediction of educational success of adults are discussed.
Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Furnham, A., & Ackerman, P. L.(2006).Ability and personality correlates of general knowledge.Personality and Individual Differences, 41,419-429. <<BACK TO LIST
The relationship of general knowledge (GK) with ability (IQ and abstract reasoning) and personality (Big Five traits and Typical Intellectual Engagement [TIE]) was investigated in a sample of 201 British university students. As predicted, GK was positively correlated with cognitive ability (more so with IQ [r=.46] than with abstract reasoning [r=.37]), TIE (r=.36) and Openness to Experience (r=.16), and negatively related to Neuroticism (r=-.18) and Extraversion (r=-.16). A total of 26% of GK variance was explained by measures of intelligence, though personality traits (particularly Neuroticism and Extraversion) showed incremental validity (5%) in the prediction of GK. Applied and theoretical implications are discussed.
Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Furnham, A., & Ackerman, P. L.(2006).Incremental validity of typical intellectual engagement as predictor of different academic performance measures.Journal of Personality Assessment, 87,261-268. <<BACK TO LIST
The incremental validity of the Typical Intellectual Engagement (TIE) scale as a predictor of academic performance (AP) was tested over and above other established determinants of AP, namely, psychometric g (as extracted from 5 cognitive ability tests) and the Big Five personality traits, assessed by the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five Factor Inventory. One hundred four British students were tested on arrival to university, and AP measures were collected longitudinally throughout a 3-year period. TIE, g, and Conscientiousness were the highest correlates of AP. A series of multiple-hierarchical regressions showed that TIE had significant incremental validity (over and above g and the Big Five) in the prediction of AP. Implications are discussed in light of the investment theory of intellectual competence and the utility of self-report inventories as predictors of academic achievement.
Ackerman, P.L., Beier, M.E., & Boylse, M.O. (2005). Working Memory and intelligence: The same or different constructs? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 30-60. <<BACK TO LIST
Several investigators have claimed over the past decade that working memory (WM) and general intelligence (g) are identical, or nearly identical, constructs, from an indiviual-differences perspective. Although memory measures are commonly included in intelligence tests, and memory abilities are included in theories of intelligence, the identity between WM and intelligence has not been evaluated comprehensively. The authors conducted a meta-ananlysis of 86 samples that relate WM to intelligence. The average correlation between true-score estimates of WM and g is substantially less than unity (p=0.479). The authors also focus on the distinction between short-term memory and WM with respect to intelligence with a supplemental meta-analysis. The authors discuss how consideration of psychometric and theoretical perspectives better informs the discussion of WM-intelligence relations.
Beier, M.E., & Ackerman, P.L. (2005). Age, ability and the role or prior knowledge on the acquisition of new domain knowledge Psychology and Aging, 20, 341-355. <<BACK TO LIST
Prior knowledge, fluid intelligence (Gf), and crystallized intelligence (Gc) were investigated as predictors of learning new information about cardiovascular disease and xerography with a sample of 199 adults (19 to 68 years). The learning environment included a laboratory multimedia presentation (high-constraint-maximal effort), and a self-directed at-home study component (low-constraint-typical performance). Results indicated that prior knowledge and ability were important predictors of knowledge acquision for learning.Gc was directly related to learning from the video for both domains. Because the trajectory of Gc stays relativley stable throughout the life span, these findings provide a more optimistic perspective on the relationship between aging and learning than that offered by theroies that focus on the role of fluid abilities in learning.
Beier, M.E., & Ackerman, P.L. (2005). Working memory and intelligence: Different constructs. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 72-75. <<BACK TO LIST
The authors address agreements and disagreements with the M. J. Kane, D. Z. Hambrick, and A. R. A. Conway (2005; see record 2004-22408-004) and K. Oberauer, R. Schulze, O. Wilhelm, and H.-M. Süß (2005; see record 2004-22408-003) commentaries on P. L. Ackerman, M. E. Beier, and M. O. Boyle (2005; see record 2004-22408-002). They discuss the following issues: (a) the relationship between working memory (WM) and general intelligence (g), (b) the reanalyses included in the comments, (c) the use of a fixed-effects model versus a random-effects model for the meta-analysis, (d) the use of structural equation modeling analyses and structural coefficients as equivocal evidence for the relationship between WM and intelligence, and (e) the problem of confirmation bias in research on WM. Although the authors disagree with their commentators about the magnitude of the relationship between WM and g, in the final analysis it appears that all concerned parties agree that WM and intelligence are different constructs.
Heggestad, E.D., & Kanfer, R. (2005). The predictive validity of self-efficacy in training performance: Little more than past performace in teams. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 11, 84-97. <<BACK TO LIST
Past research on the influence of self-efficacy in training has provided mixed results. Key differences between studies pertain to whether past performance is operationalized as a residual variable or as an unadjusted variable and to the type of tast used. In the study, the authors conducted and performed a reanalysis to examine the influence of self-efficacy using both operationalizations of past performance in 2 experimental tasks. Results indicate that, regardless of task version or type, self-efficacy predicted performance only when a residual measure of past performance was used, but not when past performance was unadjusted. However, when past performance was adjusted, the findings for self-efficacy were likely a statistical artifact. These results suggest that self-efficacy is a consequence rather than a cause of performance in training.
Kanfer, R. (2005). Self Regualtion in work and I/O Psychology. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 54, 186-191. <<BACK TO LIST
Over the past three decades, industrial/organisational (I/O) research on goals and self-regulation has flourished. Beginning with the seminal work by Locke, Latham, and their colleagues showing the positive influence of difficult and specific goals on task performance, multiple streams of research have emerged to investigate both the determinants and consequences of goals and self-regulation processes on work-related behaviors and outcomes (see, e.g. Locke, Shaw, Saari, & Latham, 1981; Vancouver, 2000, for reviews). In a review of this work, Vancouver and Day (see record 2005-03192-002) suggest that although organisational researchers have sought evidence for external and criterion-related validity, less attention has been given to the construct and internal validity of key variables and concepts, such as goals, self-efficacy, feedback, discrepancy, and self-efficacy. In a related vein, Vancouver and Day conclude that although I/O intervention studies based on the goal/self-regulation perspective show generally positive effects, such studies are insufficient for understanding how specific aspects of the goal/self-regulation process relate to enhanced performance. In this short note, I consider these concerns about goal/self-regulation research in I/O psychology from three perspectives: (1) scientific progress, (2) applications, and (3) the goals of I/O research.
Wolf, M.B., & Ackerman, P.L. (2005). Extraversion and intelligence: A meta-analytic investigation. Personality and Individual Differences, 39, 531-542. <<BACK TO LIST
Aspects of the Ackerman and Heggestad (1997) meta-analysis were updated and expanded to address the complex, contradictory findings of the extraversion–intelligence relation. Although the estimated effect sizes in the current study remained slightly positive, there was a decrease in the magnitude of the effect across extraversion–intelligence pairs in comparison to the 1997 meta-analytic results. Correlations between the date of publication of the study and the observed extraversion–intelligence correlations were generally negative, which suggested a change in the magnitude of the extraversion–intelligence relation over time. Furthermore, the estimated effect size between extraversion and intelligence for studies conducted in the year 2000 and later was (p < .05), indicating that not only has the magnitude of the correlation decreased, but also that the direction of the correlation has changed from positive to slightly negative. Trends associated with two potential moderator variables are also discussed: the use of different measures and the average age of the samples.
Beier, M.E. & Ackerman, P.L. (2004). A reapprasial of the relationship between span memory and intelligence via "best evidence synthesis." Intelligence: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 32(6), 607-619.<<BACK TO LIST
This paper examines the relationship between span memory [e.g., immediate memory, short-term memory (STM), simple span] and general ability (g) though a reanalysis of two data sets [Christal, R. E. (1959). Factor analytic study of visual memory. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 72 (13, Whole No. 466); (see record 1959-09796-001); Kelley, H.P. (1964). Memory abilities: A factor analysis. Psychometric Monographs, No. 11]. Because of their large sample sizes and the multiple measures used to identify each construct, the Christal and Kelley studies were examined within a "best evidence synthesis" framework. Modern structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques were used to examine the relationship between immediate memory and g. Results indicated that in both studies, the relationship between immediate memory and g was quite substantial (.71 and .83), and that this relationship was essentially reduced by half when the common content variance of the tests was accounted for (e.g., verbal, spatial, numerical). Results are discussed within the context of recent research examining the relationship between working memory (WM) and g.
Franco, L.M., Bennett, S., Kanfer, R.,& Stubblebine,P. (2004). Determinants and consequences of health worker motivation in hospitals in Jordan and Georgia. Social Science and Medicine, 58, 343-355. <<BACK TO LIST
Health worker motivation reflects the interactions between workers and their work environment. Because of the interactive nature of motivation, local organizational and broader sector policies have the potential to affect motivation of health workers, either positively or negatively, and as such to influence health system performance. Yet little is known about the key determinants and outcomes of motivation in developing and transition countries. This exploratory research, unique in its broader study of a whole range of motivational determinants and outcomes, was conducted in two hospitals in Jordan and two in Georgia. Three complementary approaches to data collection were used: (1) a contextual analysis; (2) a qualitative 360-degree assessment; and (3) a quantitative in-depth analysis focused on the individual determinants and outcomes of the worker's motivational process. A wide range of psychometric scales was used to assess personality differences, perceived contextual factors and motivational outcomes on close to 500 employees in each country. This research highlights the complexity of worker motivation, and the need for a more comprehensive approach to increasing motivation, satisfaction and performance, and for interventions at both organizational and policy levels.
Kanfer, R., & Ackerman, P. L.
(2004). Aging, adult development, and work motivation. Academy of Management Review, 29(3), 440-458. <<BACK TO LIST
We describe a framework for understanding how age-related changes in adult development affect work motivation, and, building on recent life-span theories and research on cognitive abilites, personality, affect, vocational interests, values, and self-concept, identify four intraindiviual change trajectories (loss, gain, reorganization, and exchange). We discuess implications of the integrative framework for the use and affectivesness of different motivational strategies with midlife and older workers in a varity of jobs, as well as abiding issues and future research directions.
<<BACK TO LIST
Using the theory of planned behavior (TPB), individual reactions to a new technology and technology usage behavior were studied over a 12-month period among 552
employees being introduced to a new computer-based system in the workplace. When considering gender as a psychological construct by employing Bem's Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), important distinctions were revealed. Specifically, masculine gender-typed individuals were different from women in that they were influenced only by subjective norm and PBC. The balanced decision-making process was observed only in the case of individuals categorized as androgynous. The high percentage of women who tested to be androgynous explains the divergence in results from the previous work, and provides evidence of changing gender roles for women in today's organizations and society.
Ackerman, P. L.
(2003). Aptitude complexes and trait complexes. Educational Psychologist, 38, 85-93. <<BACK TO LIST
The origins and development of the concept of aptitude complexes are reviewed. Initial empirical success in demonstrating interactions between aptitude complexes and instructional complexes by Richard E. Snow and his students are followed by an inductive approach to finding broader trait complexes. Three empirical studies of college students and adults up to age 62 are described, where trait complexes were correlated with domain knowledge and ability measures. Differentiated profiles of trait complex-knowledge-ability correlations were found and replicated across the three studies. Evidence for trait complexes that are supportive or impeding for the development of domain knowledge is reviewed. The aptitude complex/trait complex approach is viewed as important means toward reseraching and reevaluating the nature of aptitude-treatment interactions.
Ackerman, P. L.
(2003). Cognitive ability and non-ability trait determinants of expertise. Educational Researcher, 32(8), 15-20. <<BACK TO LIST
Traditional approaches to understanding individual differences determinants of domain-specific expertise have focused on individual trait components, such as ability or topic interest. In contrast, trait complex approaches consider whether combinations of cognitive, affective, and conative traits are particularly facilitative or impeding of the development of domain knowledge. This article reviews an investment theory and empirical research concerning a relatively small set of trait complexes that appear to be instrumental correlates of both individual and group differences in expertise across several academic domains. Implications for academic couseling and instructional interventions are discussed.
Ackerman, P.L., & Beier, M.E.
(2003). Intelligence, personality, and interests in the career choice process. Journal of Career Assessment, 11(2), 205-218. <<BACK TO LIST
Historically, many researchers have considered the domains of intellectual abilities, personality, and interests to be both distince and distant from one another. Recent meta-analytic reviews and new empirical research suggest that there are fundamental communalities among particular measures of cognition, affect, and conation. These communalities, in turn, yield a relatively small set of trait complexes - groups of traits that are related to one another and that appear to be differentially related to career choices and adult intellectual development. Derivation of trait complexes is described; empirical data on trait complexes, career choice, and domain-specific knowledge are reviewed; and implications for developments in vocational and educational couseling are suggested.
Beier, M. E., & Ackerman, P. L.
(2003). Determinants of health knowledge: An investigation of
age, gender, abilities, personality, and interests. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 84 (2), 439-448. <<BACK TO LIST
Ten areas of health knowledge were investigated
in 2 studies, 1 of college students (N=169) and 1 of adults from
the community (ages 19-70; N=176). Measures assessed knowledge
of aging, orthopedic/ dermatological concerns, common illnesses,
childhood/early life, serious illnesses, mental health, nutrition,
reproduction, safety, and treatment of illness/disease. Significant
gender differences favoring women were found for most areas of
health knowledge, especially reproduction and early life. Results
showed that cognitive ability accounted for the most variance
in health knowledge with nonability (personality and interest
traits) and demographic variables accounting for smaller but
significant amounts of variance across most knowledge domains.
Ackerman, P. L., Beier, M. B., &
Bowen, K. R. (2002). What we really know about our abilities
and our knowledge. Personality and Individual Differences,
34, 587-605. <<BACK
TO LIST
Recent research has only documented the
experimental side of the scientific divide (which focuses on
means and ignores individual differences) regarding what individuals
know about their abilities and knowledge level. The current paper
shows that research from the other side of the scientific divide,
namely the correlational approach (which focuses on individual
differences), provides a very different perspective for people's
views of their own intellectual abilities and knowledge. Previous
research is reviewed, and an empirical study of 228 adults (aged
21-62 yrs) is described where self-report assessments of abilities
and knowledge are compared with objective measures. Correlations
of self-rating and objective-score pairings show
both substantial convergent and discriminant validity, indicating
that individuals have both generally accurate and differentiated
views of their relative standing on abilities and knowledge.
Ackerman, P. L., & Cianciolo, A.
T. (2002). Ability and task constraint determinants of complex
task performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied,
8(3), 194-208. <<BACK
TO LIST
Previous research on basic information processing
tasks has suggested that there may be a dissociation between
the underlying process determinants of task performance and associations
with ability measures. The current study investigates this dissociation
in the context of a complex skill learning task -- an air traffic
control simulation called TRACON. A battery of spatial, numerical,
and perceptual speed ability tests was administered, along with
extensive task practice. After practice, manipulations of task
requirements and system consistency were introduced. Ability
correlations with performance revealed a dissociation between
some manipulations that have effects on performance means and
the corresponding correlations with reference abilities. Implications
for integrating experimental and differential approaches to explaining
performance, and possible avenues for improved selection measures
are discussed.
Ackerman, P. L., Beier, M. E., &
Boyle, M. O. (2002). Individual differences in working memory
within a nomological network of cognitive and perceptual speed
abilities. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 131,
567-589. <<BACK
TO LIST
It has become fashionable to equate constructs
of working memory (WM) and general intelligence (g). Few investigations
have provided direct evidence that WM and g measures yield similar
ordering of individuals. Correlational investigations have yielded
mixed results. The authors assess the construct space for WM
and g and demonstrate that WM shares substantial variance with
perceptual speed (PS) constructs. Thirty-six ability tests representing
verbal, numerical, spatial, and PS abilities; the Raven Advanced
Progressive Matrices; and 7 WM tests were administered to 135
adults. A nomological representation for WM is provided through
a series of cognitive and PS ability models. Construct overlap
between PS and WM is further investigated with attention to complexity,
processing differences, and practice effects.
Ackerman, P. L., Beier, M. E., &
Bowen, K. R. (2000 [published 4/01]). Explorations of crystallized
intelligence: Completion tests, cloze tests and knowledge. Learning
and Individual Differences: A Multidisciplinary Journal in Education,
12, 105-121. <<BACK
TO LIST
An attempt is made to reconcile two historically
important tools for the assessment of intelligence and the prediction
of academic achievement with extant theories of verbal-crystallized-knowledge
aspects of adult abilities. A study of 167 adults (aged 18-69
yrs) reasserts the importance of individual differences in completion
test and cloze test performance in accounting for both measures
of crystallized intelligence (Gc) and four scales of knowledge
(biology, US history, US literature, and technology). The completion
tests were found to account for all of the variance in Gc and
knowledge that the cloze tests accounted for, and resulted in
incremental predictive validity for both domains. In addition,
completion and cloze tests were found to have a suppressor effect
on the relationship between Gc and Age. We note that C. Spearman's
(1927) assertion, namely that the completion test had higher
correlations with intelligence than any other measure. Our results
suggest that abstract reasoning may be far less useful in predicting
learning and performance than the completion test is.
Ackerman,
P. L., Bowen, K. R., Beier, M. E., & Kanfer, R.
(2001).
Determinants of individual differences and gender differences
in knowledge.
Journal of Education Psychology, 93(4), 797-825.<<BACK TO LIST
The
authors investigated the abilities, self-concept, personality,
interest, motivational traits, and other determinants of knowledge
across physical sciences/technology, biology/psychology, humanities,
and civics domains.
Tests and self-report measures were administered to 320
university freshmen.
Crystallized intelligence was a better predictor than
was fluid intelligence for most knowledge domains.
Gender differences favoring men were found for most knowledge
domains.
Accounting for intelligence reduced the gender influence
in predicting knowledge differences.
Inclusion of nonability predictors further reduced the
variance accounted for by gender.
Analysis of Advanced Placement test scores largely supported
the results of the knowledge tests.
Results are consistent with theoretical predictions that
development of intellect as knowledge results from investment
of cognitive resources, which, in turn, is affected by a small
set of trait complexes.
Beier,
M. E., and Ackerman, P. L. (2001).
Current-events knowledge in adults: An investigation of
age, intelligence, and nonability determinants.
Psychology and Aging, 16(4), 615-628.<<BACK TO LIST
This
study expanded the scope of knowledge typically included in intellectual
assessment to incorporate domains of current-events knowledge
from the 1930s to the 1990s across the areas of art/humanities,
politics/economics, popular culture, and nature/science/technology.
Results indicated that age of participants was significantly
and positively related to knowledge about current events.
Moreover, fluid intelligence was a less effective predictor
of knowledge levels than was crystallized intelligence.
Personality (i.e., Openness to Experience) and self-concept
were also positively related to current-events knowledge.
The results are consistent with an investment theory of
adult intellect, which views development as an ongoing outcome
of the combined influences of intelligence-as-process, personality,
and interests, leading to intelligence-as-knowledge (P. L. Ackerman,
1996b).
Kanfer, R., Wanberg, C. R., & Kantrowitz, T.
M. (2001). Job search
and employment: A personality-motivational analysis and meta-analytic
review. Journal
of Applied Psychology, 86(5), 837-855.<<BACK TO LIST
A motivational, self-regulatory
conceptualization of job search was used to organize and investigate
the relationships between personality, expectancies, self, social,
motive, and biographical variables and individual differences
in job search behavior and employment outcomes.
Meta-analytic results indicated that all antecedent variables,
except optimism, were significantly related to job search behavior,
with estimated population correlations ranging from -.15 to .46.
As expected, job search behavior was significantly and
positively related to employment success, although the size of
the relationships was consistently smaller than those obtained
for job search. Moderator
analyses showed significant differences in the size of variable
relationships for type of job search measure (effort vs. intensity)
and sample type (job loser vs. employed job seeker vs. new entrant).
Ackerman, P. L., & Cianciolo, A.
T. (2000). Cognitive, perceptual speed, and psychomotor determinants
of individual differences during skill acquisition. Journal
of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 6, 259-290. <<BACK TO LIST
The authors describe a series of experiments that explore 3 major
ability determinants of individual differences in skill acquisition
in the context of prior theory (e.g., P. L. Ackerman, 1988) and
subsequent empirical and theoretical research. Experiment 1 assessed
the predictability of individual differences in asymptotic skill
levels on the Kanfer-Ackerman Air Traffic Controller (ATC) task.
Experiment 2 provided an exploration of the construct space underlying
perceptual-speed abilities. Experiment 3 concerned an evaluation
of theoretical predictions for individual differences in performance
over skill development in a complex air traffic control simulation
task (TRACON) and the ATC task, with an extensive battery of
general and perceptual-speed measures, along with a newly developed
PC-based suite of psychomotor ability measures. Evidence addressing
the predictability of individual differences in performance at
early, intermediate, and asymptotic levels of practice is presented.
Venkatesh, V., Morris, M., & Ackerman,
P. L. (2000). A longitudinal field investigation of gender differences
in individual technology adoption decision making processes.
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 83,
33-60. <<BACK
TO LIST Examined gender differences in the overlooked context
of individual adoption and sustained usage of technology in the
workplace using the theory of planned behavior. User reactions
and technology usage behavior were studied over a 5-mo period
among 355 workers being introduced to a new software technology
application. When compared to women's decisions, the decisions
of men were more strongly influenced by their attitude toward
using the new technology. In contrast, women were more strongly
influenced by subjective norm and perceived behavioral control.
Sustained technology usage behavior was driven by early usage
behavior, thus fortifying the lasting influence of gender-based
early evaluations of the new technology. These findings were
robust across income, organization position, education, and computer
self-efficacy levels.
Heggestad, E., & Kanfer, R. (In
Press). Individual differences in trait motivation: Development
of the Motivational Trait Questionnaire (MTQ). International
Journal of Educational Research.<<BACK TO LIST
The development and initial evaluation of a measure of motivational
traits, the Motivational Trait Questionnaire (MTQ), is described.
Based upon theorizing by Kanfer and Heggestad (1997), development
of the MTQ began by identifying and defining five motivational
traits. Item pools were generated for each of the proposed traits,
and initial facets were developed through a content-sorting procedure.
Two studies were conducted to evaluate the MTQ at the item, facet,
and scale levels. In Study 1, the facet scales were refined based
on item-level. The factor structure of the MTQ facets was similar
to that found in Study 1. An extension analysis from the three
trait factors to extant measures of achievement, test and trait
anxiety, and personality provided construct validity evidence
for the MTQ scales. Results from these studies support the multidimensional
structure of motivational traits proposed by Kanfer and Heggestad.
Ackerman, P. L. (2000). Domain-specific
knowledge as the "dark matter" of adult intelligence:
gf/gc, personality and interest correlates. Journal of Gerontology:
Psychological Sciences, 55B (2), P69-P84. <<BACK TO LIST
An enduring controversy in intelligence theory and assessment,
the argument that middle-aged adults are, on average, less intelligent
than young adults, is addressed in this study. A sample of 228
educated adults between ages 21 and 62 years was given an array
of tests that focused on a broad assessment of intelligence-as-knowledge,
traditional estimates of fluid intelligence (Gf) and crystallized
intelligence (Gc), personality, and interests. The results indicate
that middle-aged adults are more knowledgeable in many domains,
compared with your adults. A coherent pattern of ability, personality,
and interest relations is found. The results are consistent with
a developmental perspective of intelligence that includes both
traditional ability and non-ability determinants of intelligence
during adulthood. A reassessment of the nature of intelligence
in adulthood is provided, in the context of lifelong learning
and investment model, called PPIK, for intelligence-as-Process,
Personality, Interests, and intelligence-as-Knowledge (Ackerman,
1996).
Ackerman, P. L. (2000). A reappraisal
of the ability determinants of individual differences in skilled
performance. Psychologische Beiträge, 42, 4-17.<<BACK TO LIST
The prediction of individual differences in skilled performance
has been a source of substantial theory and empirical research
over the past 100 years. Developments in the statistical evaluation
of individual differences data, and progress in the investigation
of a wide range of human abilities (such as general, perceptual
speed, and psychomotor abilities) have contributed to a better
understanding of the role of ability in the acquisition of skills.
This article presents a reappraisal of the theoretical and empirical
approaches to questions regarding the ability determinants of
skilled performance, describes progress that has been made, and
discusses enduring problems and future challenges.
Kanfer, R., & Ackerman, P. L. (2000)
Individual differences in work motivation: Further explorations
of a trait framework. Applied Psychology: An International
Review, 49 (3), 469-481.<<BACK TO LIST
Empirical evidence on the conceptual and construct validity of
the motivational trait taxonomy proposed by Kanfer and Heggestad
is presented. 228 adults completed a shortened form of the Motivational
Trait Questionnaire (MTQ), along with a battery of personality
and ability measures. Relationships of the MTQ with personality
measures show evidence of convergent and discriminant validity
for trait constructs of Personal Mastery, Competitive Excellence,
and Motivation Related to Anxiety. In addition, MTQ scale scores
were generally unrelated to composite measures of fluid and crystallized
intelligence. Examination of age differences showed a pattern
of developmental decline in the achievement trait complex, but
not the anxiety complex.
Wanberg, C. R., Kanfer, R., & Banas, J. T.
(2000) Predictors and outcomes of networking intensity among
unemployed job seekers.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 35(4), 491-503.<<BACK TO LIST
This study examined predictors
and outcomes of networking intensity (i.e., individual actions
directed toward contacting friends, acquaintances, and referrals
to get information, leads, or advice on getting a job) during
the job searches of a sample of unemployed individuals.
The study used a Big Five framework, in which extraversion
and conscientiousness were associated with both higher levels
of networking intensity and higher use of other traditional job-search
methods. Networking
comfort (a procedure-specific constellation of evaluative beliefs
depicting attitudes toward using networking as a job-search method)
was positively related to networking intensity above and beyond
the effects of personality. Networking
intensity did not provide incremental prediction of unemployment
insurance exhaustion., reemployment or reemployment speed, or
job satisfaction when intensity of use of other job-search methods
was considered.
Ackerman, P. L., & Cianciolo, A.
T. (1999). Psychomotor abilities via touch-panel testing: Measurement
innovations, construct, and criterion validity. Human Performance,
12, 231-273. <<BACK
TO LIST
Assessment of psychomotor abilities for prediction of human performance
is briefly reviewed. Reasons for the abandonment of psychomotor
testing for section applications are described. We review innovation
in touch-sensitive computer monitors as a methodology for relatively
low-cost, highly flexible test development, validation, and application
of standard psychomotor tests. The development and evaluation
of 5 psychomotor test types are described including discrete
response tests (choice-simple reaction time [RT], serial RT,
and tapping) and continuous-response tests (maze tracing and
mirror tracing). Two empirical studies of the new psychomotor
tests are presented, with a broad array of perceptual speed and
cognitive abilities providing evidence for construct validity.
In addition, some of the psychomotor tests are validated against
a real-time simulation criterion (the Kanfer-Ackerman Air Traffic
Controller Task). We argue that these new innovations provide
a means toward revisiting psychomotor testing to augment employee
section batteries.
Ackerman,
P. L. and Rolfhus, E. L. (1999).
The locus of adult intelligence: Knowledge, abilities,
and nonability traits.
Psychology and Aging, 14(2), 314-330. <<BACK TO LIST
Some intelligence theorists (e.g.,
R. B. Cattell, 1943; D. O. Hebb, 1942) have suggested that knowledge
is one aspect of human intelligence that is well preserved or
increases during adult development.
Very little is known about knowledge structures across
different domains or about how individual differences in knowledge
relate to other traits. Twenty academic and technology-oriented tests
were administered to 135 middle-aged adults.
In comparison with younger college students, the middle-aged
adults knew more about nearly all of the various knowledge domains. Knowledge was partly predicted by general intelligence,
by crystallized abilities, and by personality, interest, and
self-concept. Implications
of this work are discussed in the context of a developmental
theory that focuses on the acquisition and maintenance of intelligence-as-knowledge,
as well as the role of knowledge for predicting the vocational
and avocational task performance of adults.
Rolfhus, E. L., & Ackerman, P. L.
(1999). Assessing individual differences in knowledge: Knowledge
structures and traits. Journal of Educational Psychology,
91, 511-526. <<BACK
TO LIST
Twenty academic knowledge tests were developed to locate domain
knowledge within a nomological network of traits. Spatial, numerical,
and verbal aptitude measures and personality and interest measures
were administered to 141 undergraduates. Domain knowledge factored
along curricular lines; a general knowledge factor accounted
for about half of knowledge variance. Domain knowledge exhibited
positive relations with general intelligence (g), verbal abilities
after g was removed, Opennes, Typical Intellectual engagement,
and specific vocational interests. Spatial and numerical abilities
were unrelated to knowledge beyond g. Extraversion related negatively
to all knowledge domains. Results provide broad support for R.B.
Cattell's (1971/1987) crystallized intelligence as something
more than verbal abilities and specific support for P.L. Ackerman's
(1996) intelligence-as-process, personality, interests, and intelligence-as-knowledge
theory of adult intelligence.
Wanberg, C., Kanfer, R., & Rotondo,
M. (1999). Unemployed individuals: Motives, job-search competencies,
and job-search constraints as predictors of job seeking and reemployment.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 897-910.<<BACK TO LIST
This study investigated 3 broad classes of individual-differences
variables (job-search motives, competencies, and constraints)
as predictors of job -search intensity among unemployed job seekers.
Also assessed was the relationship between job-search intensity
and reemployment success in a longitudinal context. Results show
significant relationships between the predictors employment commitment,
financial hardship, job-search self-efficacy, and motivation
control and the outcome job-search intensity. Motivation control
was highlighted as the only lagged predictor of job-search intensity
over time for those who were continuously unemployed. Job-search
intensity predicted Time 2 reemployment status for the sample
as a whole, but not reemployment quality for those who found
jobs over the study's duration.
Ackerman, P. L., & Heggestad, E.
D. (1997). Intelligence, personality, and interests: Evidence
for overlapping traits. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 219-245. <<BACK TO LIST
The authors review the development of the modern paradigm for
intelligence assessment and application and consider the differentiation
between intelligence-as-maximal performance and intelligent-as-typical
performance. They review theories of intelligence, personality,
and interest as a means to establish potential overlap. Consideration
of intelligence-as-typical performance provides a basis for evaluation
of intelligence - personality and intelligence - interest relations.
Evaluation of relations among personality constructs, vocational
interests, and intellectual abilities provides evidence for communality
across the domains of personality of J. L. Holland's (1959) model
of vocational interests. The authors provide an extensive meta-analysis
of personality - intellectual ability correlations, and a review
of interests - intellectual ability associations. They identify
4 trait complexes: social, clerical/conventional, science/math,
and intellectual/cultural.
Ackerman, P. L. (1997). Personality,
self-concept, interests, and intelligence: Which construct doesn't
fit? Journal of Personality, 65(2), 171-204. <<BACK TO LIST
Evaluation of overlap among correlational construct families
provides a basis for cross-fertilization in each of the four
separate individual-differences domains. This article provides
some new insights on Thorndike's claim that superiority in one
trait implies superiority in other traits. Definitions and methodological
differences among correlational domains of inquiry are reviewed
from modern investigations of personality, self-concept, interests,
and intelligence. Sources of overlap between personality and
other trait families are discussed and four trait complexes are
reviewed: social, clerical/conventional, science/math, and intellectual/cultural.
Implications of the trait-complex approach and challenges to
integrative research approaches to applied problems are presented.
Ackerman, P. L. (1996). A theory of
adult intellectual development: process, personality, interests,
and knowledge. Intelligence, 22, 229-259. <<BACK TO LIST
The development of adult intelligence assessment early in this
century as an upward extension of the Binet-Simon approach to
child intelligence assessment is briefly reviewed. Problems with
the use of IQ measures for adults are described, along with a
discussion of related conceptualizations of adult intellectual
performance. Prior intelligence theories that considered adult
intelligence (Cattell, 1943, 1971/1987; Hebb, 1941, 1942, 1949;
Vernon, 1950) are reviewed. Based on extensions of prior theory
and new analyses of personality-ability and interest-ability
relations, a developmental theory of adult intelligence is proposed,
called PPIK. The PPIK theory of adult intellectual development
integrates intelligence-as-process, personality, interests, and
intelligence-as-knowledge. Data from the study of knowledge structures
are examined in the context of the theory, and in relation to
measures of content abilities (spatial and verbal abilities).
New directions for the future of research on adult intellect
are discussed in light of an approach that integrates personality,
interests, process, and knowledge.
Goska, R. E., & Ackerman, P. L.
(1996). An aptitude-treatment interaction approach to transfer
within training. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88,
249-259.<<BACK
TO LIST
The issues of skill specificity and transfer of training were
examined from an aptitude-treatment interaction approach. The
current investigations extended A.M. Sullivan's (1964) approach
by using a procedural transfer task and training conditions that
differed in the amount of training task practiced and the degree
of training task similarity to the transfer task. Tow experiments
were conducted with 232 college students. Experiment 1 examined
the effects of a length-of -training manipulation on reasoning
ability and transfer task performance relationships, and on the
amount of transfer. Experiment 2 evaluated the effects of 2 training
tasks that differed in terms of similarity to the transfer task
on ability-performance relationships and the amount of transfer.
Results suggest that Sullivan's approach partially generalizes
to the acquisition of procedural knowledge.
Kanfer, R., Ackerman, P. L., & Heggestad,
E. D. (1996). Motivational skills & self-regulation for learning:
A trait perspective. Learning and Individual Differences,
8, 185-209. <<BACK
TO LIST
We report a series of investigations that focus on the nature
of motivational skills and self-regulation for learning as traits,
in contrast to consideration of self-regulation as resulting
from particular interventions. In this context, we consider how
self-report measures of motivational and self-regulation skills
relate to other traits, such as ability, personality, interests,
academic self-concept, self-ratings of abilities. In addition,
we discuss how such trait measures are associated with task-specific
self efficacy across tasks of varying complexity-from simple
and information processing to complex air traffic controller
tasks. Self-regulatory and motivational skills show substantial
overlap with other trait measures, as do measures of learning
strategies. Motivational and domain-specific self-concepts, along
with trait anxiety, appear to be strongly related to task-specific
self-efficacy.
Murtha, T. C., Kanfer, R., & Ackerman,
P. L. (1996). Towards an interactionist taxonomy of personality
and situations: An integrative situational-dispositional representation
of personality traits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
71, 193-207. <<BACK
TO LIST
This article has 2 goals: first, to present and test a hierarchical
representation of personality that jointly incorporates both
situational and personality (e.g., Big Five) factors into a trait
conception, and second, to explicate the dimensions along which
situations differ in their effect on responses, providing the
conceptual and empirical groundwork for the development of a
joint taxonomy of traits and situations. A study of the effects
of situational differences on trait self-reports indicated that
conscientiousness and agreeableness can be represented hierarchically,
with lower levels jointly constrained by both personality content
and situational breadth. This representation establishes a methodological
framework allowing for the explanation of the ways that situations
interact with personality to affect responses. Implications of
this representation for personality theory and prediction to
and from personality inventories are discussed.
Rolfhus, E. L., & Ackerman, P. L.
(1996). Self-report knowledge: At the crossroads of ability,
interest, and personality. Journal of Educational Psychology,
88, 174-188. <<BACK
TO LIST
The authors describe an approach to adult intellect on the basis
of content, unlike the traditional approach, which is mostly
based on process. Thirty-two academic knowledge scales were rated
by 202 college students, who also completed ability, vocational
interest, and personality scales. Analyses of knowledge clusters
and individual scales were used to evaluate commonality across
ability constructs (verbal and spatial ability), vocational interests
(realistic, investigative, and artistic), and personality (typical
intellectual engagement and openness). The results support knowledge
differentiation across fluid and crystallized abilities, show
a pattern of positive correlations of arts and humanities knowledge
with typical intellectual engagement and openness, and show correlations
between math and physical sciences knowledge and realistic and
investigative interests. Implications for the study of adult
intelligence are discussed.
Schneider, R. J., Ackerman, P. L., &
Kanfer, R. (1996). To "act wisely in human relations:"
Exploring the dimensions of social competence. Personality
and Individual Differences, 21, 469-481. <<BACK TO LIST
An individual-differences approach to social competence is presented.
People generated a large number of operational indicators of
social competence. The dimensions that underlie those indicators
were then determined. Seven interpretable dimensions of social
competence were identified, each with a distinct pattern of correlations
with personality and cognitive ability variables. Major personality
dimensions are closely related to social competence, whereas
cognitive ability (as operationalized by academic performance
indicators) is less related to social competence. A profile approach
to social competence is proposed because (a) social competence
is a compound trait, all of whose dimensions do not covary, and
(b) some social competence dimensions may be curvilinear such
that, after an ideal point has been reached, higher standing
on the dimension may hinder rather than enhance socially competent
performance. Copyright (c) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.
Ackerman, P. L., Kanfer, R., & Goff,
M. (1995). Cognitive and noncognitive determinants and consequences
of complex skill acquisition. Journal of Experimental Psychology:
Applied, 1, 270-304. <<BACK
TO LIST
Integration of multiple perspectives on the determinants of individual
differences in skill acquisition is provided by examination of
a wide array of predictors: ability (spatial, verbal, mathematical,
and perceptual speed), personality (neuroticism, extroversion,
openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness), vocational interests
(realistic and investigative), self-estimates of ability, self-concept,
motivational skills, and task-specific self-efficacy. Ninety-three
trainees were studied over the course of 15 hr (across 2 weeks)
of skill acquisition practice on a complex, air traffic controller
simulation task (Terminal Radar Approach Controller; TRACON;
Wesson International; Austin, TX). Across task practice, measures
of self-efficacy, and negative and positive motivational thought
occurrence were collected to examine prediction of later performance
and communality with pretask measures. Results demonstrate independent
and interactive influences of ability tests and self-report measures
in predicting training task performance. Implications for the
selection process are discusses in terms of communalities observed
in the predictor space.
Ackerman, P. L., & Woltz, D.J. (1994).
Determinants of learning and performance in an associative memory/substitution
task: Task constraints, individual differences, and volition.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 487-515.<<BACK TO LIST
The way that cognitive abilities, learning task characteristics,
and motivational and volitional processes combine to explain
individual differences in performance and learning was investigated.
A substitution task was studied over practice, and it was discovered
that students used strategy in which students persisted in scanning
items. Five experiments investigated strategy differences and
the ability and motivational correlates of task performance.
First, ability correlates of performance and strategy use were
demonstrated. Next, reducing task difficulty increased use of
the learning strategy. With periodic memory tests, effective
reliance on the learning strategy was increased, and task performance
correlations with reasoning ability were lowered. Finally, a
combination of self-focus and goal-setting interventions increased
both general performance levels and use of the learning strategy.
Results are discussed in terms of the goal of developing a more
comprehensive understanding of learner differences.
Ackerman, P. L., & Goff, M. (1994)
Typical intellectual engagement and personality: Reply to Rocklin
(1994). Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 150-153.<<BACK TO LIST
T. Rocklin (1994) examined the relations between our (M. Goff
& P.L. Ackerman, 1992) measure of Typical Intellectual Engagement
(TIE) and a personality test measure of Openness. We examine
Rocklin's arguments in the context of three themes: philosophical
issues, TIE and Openness from a facet perspective, and the bandwidth-fidelity
dilemma. Although Rocklin raised important issues about these
constructs, we demonstrate that measures of TIE and Openness,
although significantly related, are theoretically and empirically
distinguishable.
Kanfer, R., Ackerman, P. L., Murtha,
T. C., Dugdale, B., & Nelson, L. (1994). Goal Setting, Conditions
of practice, and task performance: A resource allocation perspective.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 826-835.<<BACK TO LIST
Hypotheses regarding the influence of goal assignments on performance
of a novel, complex task under varying conditions of practice
were derived from a cognitive resource allocation model. Goals
and type of practice interacted in their effects on two key performance
measures. In the massed-practice conditions, trainees assigned
specific, difficult goals tended to perform poorer than trainees
in the control (do your best goal) condition. In the spaced-practice
conditions, goal trainees performed marginally better than control
trainees. Self-report measures of goal commitment, and on-task,
off-task, and affective thoughts during breaks and task performance
provide additional evidence for the independent and interactive
effects of goals and practice conditions on motivation and performance.
Results provide further support for the resource allocation framework.
Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Leon,
G. R., Kanfer, R., Hoffman, R. G., & Dupre, L. (1994). Group
processes and task effectiveness in a Soviet-American expedition
team.
Environment and Behavior, 26(2), 149-165.<<BACK TO LIST
A 12-person Soviet-American Bering
Bridge expedition team was studied over the 61 days of their
trek by dogsled and cross-country ski from the Chukotka region
of Siberia, across the Bering Straits, to Alaska.
The group was instructed to complete a daily effectiveness
measure each evening that assessed the perception of the emotional
climate of the group and relationships to task effectiveness.
Members participated in a structured interview at the
end of the expedition. Perceived fairness of daily task assignments
was negatively related to number of disagreements and how friendly
other team members were.
The planned stops in villages along the way to promote
international harmony enhanced the international objectives of
the expedition but had a negative impact on group cohesiveness.
The ability of the group to meet its objectives despite
frequent episodes promoting a negative emotional climate was
discussed.
Ackerman, P. L., & Kanfer, R. (1993).
Integrating laboratory and field study for improving selection:
Development of a battery for predicting air traffic controller
success. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 413-432. <<BACK TO LIST
An example of combining laboratory-and field-based study to develop
a selection battery for field implementation s described. The
procedure provides advantages in comparison with sole use of
construct validity data, and fewer field demands for cross-validation.
Two experiments were conducted that converge on development of
a test battery for selection of air traffic controllers (ATCs).
The laboratory study (N=112) used an ATC simulator (terminal
radar approach control, or TRACON) for initial development and
evaluation of the selection battery. The field study of 206 Federal
Aviation Administration ATC trainees provided cross-validation
data as a precursor to implementation of the battery. Implications
for developing ability-based and self efficacy-based selection
measures for complex job performance are discussed, as are general
issues for new election research and application.
Ackerman, P. L. (1992). Predicting individual
differences in complex skill acquisition: Dynamics of ability
determinants. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 598-614.<<BACK TO LIST
Substantial controversy exists about ability determinants of
individual differences in performance during and subsequent to
skill acquisition. This investigation addresses the controversy.
An information-processing examination of ability-performance
relations during complex task acquisition is described. Included
are ability testing (including general, reasoning, spatial, perceptual
speed, and perceptual/psychomotor abilities) and skill acquisition
over practice on the terminal radar approach controller simulation.
Results validate and extend Ackerman's (1988) theory of cognitive
ability determinants of individual differences in skill acquisition.
Benefits of ability component and task component analyses over
global analyses of ability-skill relations are demonstrated.
Implications are discussed for selection instruments to predict
air traffic controller success and for other tasks with inconsistent
information-processing demands.
Goff, M., & Ackerman, P. L. (1992).
Personality-intelligence relations: Assessing typical intellectual
engagement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 537-552.<<BACK TO LIST
Relations between personality and intelligence were investigated
in the context of the distinction between intelligence as typical
engagement and intelligence as maximal engagement. The traditional
approach to investigating the association between intelligence
as maximal performance and personality was reviewed, and suggestions
were made, including the suggestion that intelligence as typical
engagement and related to typical intellectual performance were
operationalized. Relations found were modest, yet several personality
scales differentially related to fluid and crystallized classes
of intelligence. Relations between the personality constructs
surrounding typical intellectual engagement and the broad personality
domain are investigated.
Johnson, D. J., & Kanfer, R. (1992).
Goal-performance relations: The effects of initial task complexity
and task practice. Motivation and Emotion, 16, 117-141.<<BACK TO LIST
The current study was conducted to examine the effects of task
complexity and task practice (trials) on the goal-performance
relationship. Specific, difficult goal assignments were predicted
to enhance performance on complex task only in later task practice.
On a simpler task, specific, difficult goal assignments were
predicted to enhance performance in early task practice and to
disrupt performance in later task practice. The results indicated
that goals exerted the predicted effects in the simple task version
but had no effect in the complex task version. Possible relationships
between amount of task practice and stages of skill acquisition
are discussed for tasks differing in complexity. The results
are also discussed in terms of cognitive resource demands and
self-regulatory processes. Implications for the effectiveness
of goals in relation to task complexity and task trials are also
discussed.
Leon, G., Kanfer, R., Hoffman, R. G.,
& Dupre, L. (1991). Interrelationships of personality, coping,
and group processes in a Soviet-American expedition team. Journal
of Research in Personality, 25, 357-371.<<BACK TO LIST
The relationship between personality characteristics, daily stressors,
and means of coping were studied in a 12-person Soviet-American
expedition team consisting of Caucasian and Eskimo men and women.
The members scored relatively high on scales measuring well-being,
achievement orientation, and traditionalism and scored relatively
low on stress reactivity. The use of social support as a coping
mechanism was positively related to high stress reactivity, control,
and negative emotionality and negatively related to well-being.
Negative emotionality was related to ratings of daily intrapersonal
stressors. Discussion centered on the function of social support
in an extreme, task-focused situation and the relationship of
social support coping in this particular type of situation to
maladaptive personality characteristics.
Ackerman, P. L. (1990). A correlational
analysis of skill specificity: Learning, abilities, and individual
differences. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning,
Memory, and Cognition, 16, 883-901.<<BACK TO LIST
Skill specificity, the notion that task performance is based
on unique underlying information-processing components at skilled
levels of performance, is examined from the perspective of the
ability determinants of individual differences in task performance
during skill acquisition. The current investigation uses a dynamic
ability-skill theoretical perspective to evaluate how individual
differences in procedural learning for a complex criterion task
relate to learning of procedures for other more basic tasks such
as choice and simple reaction time. An experiment with 86 college
students was performed using a simulated Air Traffic Controller
(ATC) task for assessment of procedural learning, along with
practice on several perceptual speed measures and assessment
of reference abilities. When subjects are allowed to practice
tests of perceptual speed and psychomotor ability, some measures
increase in their power to predict skilled performance on the
complex ATC criterion task, a direct disconfirmation of the skill-specificity
thesis. Discussion is devoted to the use of individual-differences
approaches to address general transfer and skill specificity
issues.
Kanfer, R. (1990). Motivation and Individual
Differences in Learning: An Integration of Developmental, Differential,
and Cognitive Perspectives. Learning and Individual Differences,
2, 221-239.<<BACK
TO LIST
Cognitively-based motivational processes are examined from achievement
and goal setting perspective to provide a common basis for: (1)
resolution of discontinuities in the empirical literature; (2)
analysis of the role of motivational dispositions; and (3) consideration
of motivation-cognitive processing interactions during complex
skill acquisition. Goal orientation and goal attributes are examined
with respect to their detrimental and beneficial influence on
performance through effects on goal choice and self-regulatory
activities. Theoretically-related differential approaches to
motivational processing are found to differ in their utility
for understanding motivation among children and adults. The effects
of motivational processing on cognitive processes during complex
skill acquisition are considered for the purpose of identifying
when, how, and for whom specific motivational interventions might
be most effective.
Lind, E. A., Kanfer, R., & Earley,
P. C. (1990). Voice, control, and procedural justice: Instrumental
and noninstrumental concerns in fairness judgments. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 952-959.<<BACK TO LIST
One hundred seventy-nine undergraduate Ss took part in a study
of the effects of instrumental and noninstrumental participation
on distributive and procedural fairness judgments. In a goal-setting
procedure, Ss were allowed voice before the goal was set, after
the goal was set, or not at all. Ss received information relevant
to the task, irrelevant information, or no information. Both
pre- and postdecision voice led to higher fairness judgments
than non voice, with predecision voice leading to higher fairness
judgments than postdecision voice. Relevant information also
increased perceived fairness. Mediation analyses showed that
perceptions of control account for some, but not all, of the
voice-based enhancement of procedural justice. The results show
that both instrumental and noninstrumental concerns are involved
in voice effects.
Ackerman, P. L. (1989). Within-task
intercorrelations of skilled performance: Implications for predicting
individual differences? Journal of Applied Psychology, 74,
360-364.<<BACK
TO LIST
Recent discussion by Henry and Hulin (1987) about the implications
of stability and change in skilled performance are questioned
on several counts. First, the presentation reflects an inadequate
review of previous data pertaining to the influences of skill
acquisition on ability-performance covariance. Furthermore, the
authors made untenable assumptions that equate ability with job
sample measures. Their conclusions about universal decline in
predictive validity coefficients are inconsistent with both theory
and data in the literature. As a result, misleading generalizations
were made to other issues in the prediction of individual differences.
This article notes deviations from historical literature and
outlines the problems of this approach. Discussion of theoretical
frameworks for predicting individual differences in skill acquisition
and skilled performance is also presented, along with an overview
of data in support of these frameworks. The conclusions reached
differ from those of Henry and Hulin, lead to different interpretations
of past research and practice, and propose very different directions
for future research.
Ackerman, L. and Ackerman, P. L. (1989).
Generational differences and parent-child resemblance
in achievement motives and locus of control: A cross-sectional
analysis. Personality
and Individual Differences, 10(12), 1237-1242. <<BACK TO LIST
Recently, there has been increased
interest in the role of stable individual differences in so-called
personal constructs (e.g. motivation, affect) as determinants
of work performance. This
study examines: (1) parent-child resemblance in achievement motivation
and locus of control, and (2) generational differences in these
variables using the WOFO and I-E scales.
Results offer convincing evidence for the lack of direct
relationship between parent achievement motivation and locus
of control on child ratings for these scales.
The results are discussed in light of the importance of
discovering the antecedents of achievement motivation and locus
of control dispositions, especially as they affect behavior in
the workplace.
Kanfer, R., & Ackerman, P. L. (1989).
Motivation and cognitive abilities: An integrative/aptitude-treatment
interaction approach to skill acquisition. Journal of Applied
Psychology - Monograph, 74, 657-690.<<BACK TO LIST
Two central constructs of applied psychology, motivation and
cognitive ability, were integrated within an information-processing
framework. This theoretical framework simultaneously considers
individual differences in cognitive abilities, self-regulatory
processes of motivation, and information-processing demands.
Evidence for the framework is provided in the context of skill
acquisition, in which information-processing and ability demands
change as a f function of practice, training paradigm, and timing
of goal setting. Three field-based lab experiments were conducted
with 1,010 U.S. Air Forces trainees. In Experiment 1 the basic
ability-performance parameters of the air traffic controller
task and goal-setting effects early in practice were evaluated.
In Experiment 2 goal setting later in practice was examined.
In Experiment 3 the simultaneous effects of training content,
goal setting, and ability-performance interactions were investigated.
Results support the theoretical framework and have implications
for notions of ability-motivation interactions and design of
training and motivation programs.
Paese, P. W., Lind, E. A., & Kanfer,
R. (1989). Procedural fairness and work group responses to performance
evaluation systems. Social Justice Research, 2, 193-205.<<BACK TO LIST
In a variety of settings, procedures that permit predecision
input by those affected by the decision in question have been
found to have positive effects on fairness judgments, independent
of the favorability of the decision. Two major models of the
psychology of procedural justice make contrary predictions about
whether repeated negative outcomes attenuate such input effects.
If such attenuation occurs, it would lessen the applicability
of procedural justice findings to some real-world settings, such
as organizations, where procedures often provide repeated negative
outcomes. The present laboratory investigation examined the procedural
and distributive fairness justments produced by high- and low-input
performance evaluation procedures under conditions of repeated
negative outcomes. Thirty-five three-person groups of male undergraduates
participated in a three-round competition. Groups either were
or were not allowed to specify the relative weights to be given
to two criteria used in evaluating their performance. All groups
received negative outcomes on each of the three rounds. A second
experimental factor varied whether or not the group learned after
losing the second round that it could not possibly win the third
and final round of the competition. Measures of procedural and
distributive fairness showed that the high-input procedure led
to judgments of greater procedural and distributive fairness
across all three rounds. The input-based enhancement of fairness
occurred regardless of whether reward was possible. The implications
of these findings for theories of procedural justice and for
applications of procedural justice to organizational settings
are discussed.
Ackerman, P. L. (1988). Determinants
of individual differences during skill acquisition: Cognitive
abilities and information processing. Journal of Experimental
Psychology: General, 117, 288-318.<<BACK TO LIST
An integrative theory that links general models of skill acquisition
with ability determinants of individual differences in performance
is presented. Three major patterns of individual differences
during skill acquisition are considered: changes in between-subjects
variability, the simplex pattern of trial intercorrelations,
and changing ability-performance correlations with practice.
In addition to a review of previous theory and data, eight experimental
manipulations are used to evaluate the cognitive ability demands
associated with different levels of information-processing complexity
and consistency. Subjects practiced category word search, spatial
figure, and choice reaction time tasks over several hundred trials
of task practice. An air traffic controller simulation was used
to show generalization to a complex task. Examinations of practice-related
between-subjects variance changes and ability-performance correlations
are used to demonstrate that an equivalence exists between three
broad phases of skill acquisition and three cognitive-intellectual
determinants of individual differences.
Ahrens, A. H., Zeiss, A. M., & Kanfer, R. (1988).
Dysphoric deficits in interpersonal standards, self-efficacy,
and social comparison.
Cognitive Therapy and Research, 12(1), 53-67.<<BACK TO LIST
This study examined the role
of personal standards, self-efficacy expectations, and social
comparison in depression.
Nondepressed and dysphoric subjects estimated their own
interpersonal standards and efficacy, as well as the standards
and efficacy of their peers.
Contrary to common theory, dysphoric subjects set lower
– not higher – goals than did nondepressed subjects.
As expected, nondepressed subjects made more favorable
social comparisons than did dysphoric subjects.
Nondepressed subjects made more positive judgments for
themselves than for their peers, whereas dysphoric subjects made
similar judgments for self and other.
Results are discussed in terms of their implications for
the role of goals and social comparison processes in depression.
In particular, it is suggested that, in response to a
gap between standards and performance expectations, one might
raise expectations, lower standards, or maintain both standards
and expectations. The
latter two are likely to be associated with depression. Not only are evaluations made in absolute terms,
but they are also made by social comparison, especially when
evaluation concerns one’s goals.
This study suggests that dysphoric people no longer judge
that they are superior to their peers, which might hinder them
in mobilizing their efforts.
Fisk, A. D., and Ackerman, P. L. (1988).
Effects of type of responding on memory/visual search:
Responding just “yes” or just “no” can lead
to inflexible performance.
Perception & Psychophysics, 43(4), 373-379.<<BACK TO LIST
Interactions of stimulus consistency
and type of responding were examined during perceptual learning. Subjects performed hybrid memory-visual search
tasks over extended consistent and varied mapping practice. Response conditions required subjects to respond
to both the presence and absence of a target, only when a target
was present or only when a target was not present.
After training, the subjects were transferred to a different
response condition. The
results indicate that: (1) performance on search tasks with stimuli
that are variably mapped show no qualitative changes attributable
to manipulation of response format; (2) improvement due to consistent
mapping (CM) practice is attenuated in the no-only response condition;
(3) yes-only CM training attenuates the subjects’ ability
to transfer to no-only responding; and (4) yes/no CM training
leads to the greatest improvement and transfer when compared
with other responding conditions.
The practice and transfer data support and extend previous
research investigation effects of response set in memory/visual
search and help to delineate factors that facilitate or inhibit
reduction of load effects in memory and visual search.
Kanfer, R., Crosby, J. V., & Brandt,
D. M. (1988). Investigating behavioral antecedents of turnover
at three job tenure levels. Journal of Applied Psychology,
73, 331-335.<<BACK
TO LIST
A field study was conducted to investigate differences between
hourly assembly operators who stayed and hourly assembly operators
who voluntarily quit their jobs. A total of 80 stayers and 121
leavers were identified from personnel records and were classified
into one of three job tenure groups, 2-5 months, 6-12 months,
and more than 12 months. Job performance, attendance measures,
and biographical variables were used to predict turnover for
each job tenure group. Results indicated poorer performance by
leavers with 6-12 months tenure compared with stayers. No differences
in performance or attendance were obtained between stayers and
leavers with between 2-5 months and those with more than 12-months
job tenure. Leavers after 6 and before 12 months demonstrated
more absenteeism compared with stayers. Implications for the
role of absenteeism and constraints on the performance-retention
relation are discussed.
Ackerman, P. L. (1987). Individual differences
in skill learning: An integration of psychometric and information
processing perspectives. Psychological Bulletin, 102,
3-27.<<BACK
TO LIST
In this article, I reexamine the nature of individual differences
in novel and practiced performance on skill learning tasks from
an information processing framework that incorporates concepts
derived from automatic and controlled information processing
and attentional resources perspectives. I also use developments
in quantitative analysis procedures to approach previous data
in a single, unbiased framework for evaluation. Two major sources
of data and discussion are reanalyzed and critically evaluated.
One source concerns the changes in interindividual between-subjects
variability with task practice. The other main source of data
and theory pertains to associations between intellectual abilities
and task performance during skill acquisition. Early studies
of practice and variability yielded mixed results regarding the
convergence or divergence of individual differences with practice.
Other studies regarding intelligence and skill learning indicated
small or trivial correlations between individual differences
in intelligence and "gain" scores. More recent studies
indicated small correlations between performance measures on
skill learning tasks and standard intellectual and cognitive
ability measures, as well as increasing amounts of task-specific
variance over learning trials. On the basis of this reanalysis
and reexamination, these data confirm the proposition that individuals
converge on performance as tasks become less dependent on attentional
resources with practice. Further, it is determined that when
appropriate methodological techniques are used and crucial task
characteristics are taken into account, intellectual abilities
play a substantial part in determining individual differences
in skill learning.
Kanfer, R. (1987). Task-specific motivation: An integrative approach
to issues of measurement, mechanisms, processes, and determinants. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology,
5(2), 237-264.<<BACK
TO LIST
The present paper identifies and
discusses contemporary problems in the self-regulation, expectancy-value,
and goal-setting conceptualizations of task-specific motivation. Three issues are examined in detail: (1) the
construct validity of performance measures as a criterion of
motivation on cognitive tasks; (2) the influence of objective
task characteristics on both the measurement of motivation and
the motivation process itself; and (3) the measurement, meaning,
and function of the perceived effort-performance relation and
probabilistic measures of performance expectations.
Within each issue, theoretical advances in information
processing and decision making are integrated with previous empirical
findings pertaining to performance motivation.
Examination of these issues suggests that further emphasis
be placed on form analyses of three cognitive mechanisms and
on validating a conceptual framework concerning the influence
of situational and individual-difference factors on specific
cognitive components. A
heuristic model, extending previous conceptualizations on the
basis of new knowledge in the cognitive domain, is presented
as a guide for further integrative research on task-specific
motivation.
Kanfer, R., Sawyer, J., Earley, P. C., & Lind,
E. A. (1987). Fairness
and participation in evaluation procedures: Effects on task attitudes
and performance. Social
Justice Research, 1(2), 235-249.<<BACK TO LIST
A laboratory study was conducted
to examine the role of two components of participatory work evaluation
procedures on fairness attitudes and work performance.
“Opportunity for influential opinion expression”
and “knowledge of evaluation criteria” were manipulated
in a business simulation exercise.
Thirty-eight male and 49 female undergraduates worked
under a task evaluation procedure that either did or did not
allow them to express their opinions to the evaluator.
In addition, subjects either were or were not provided
with specific information about the criteria to be used in making
the performance evaluation, and they received either a favorable
or an unfavorable outcome.
Questionnaire responses indicated that influential opinion
expression enhanced perceptions of procedural and distributive
fairness independently of the outcome of the evaluation.
Both knowledge of evaluation criteria and perceptions
of evaluation fairness correlated with subsequent task performance.
The implications of these findings are discussed with
respect to understanding the influence of procedural justice
on attitudes and task behavior in organizational settings.
Ackerman, P. L. (1986). Individual differences
in information processing: An investigation of intellectual abilities
and task performance during practice. Intelligence, 10,
101-139.<<BACK
TO LIST
A conceptual theory for predicting the relations between intellectual
abilities and performance during task practice is proposed and
evaluated. This macro-theory integrates modern hierarchical theories
of intellectual abilities with information-processing theories
of automatic and controlled processing (Schneider & Shiffrin,
1977) and performance-resource functions (Norman & Bobrow,
1975). An empirical evaluation of the theory is provided from
an experiment with high school and college students. Subjects
practiced for several hours on verbal and spatial memory tasks
with consistent and varied information-processing manipulations.
Derived correlations between ability factors and task performance
measures indicate support for the theory and support for linkage
of the concepts of intellectual abilities and attentional resources.
Drasgow, F., and Kanfer, R. (1985).
Equivalence of psychological measurement in heterogeneous
populations. Journal
of Applied Psychology, 70(4), 662-680.<<BACK TO LIST
A method for investigating measurement
equivalence across subpopulations is developed and applied to
an instrument frequently used to assess job satisfaction (the
Job Descriptive Index; JDI).
The method is based on Jöreskog’s simultaneous
factor analysis in several populations. Several adaptations are necessary to overcome
problems with violations of assumptions that occur with rating
scale data. Two
studies were conducted to evaluate the measurement equivalence
of the JDI across different subpopulations.
Investigation of five relatively homogeneous subpopulations
within one industry revealed invariant measurement properties
for the JDI. In
the second study, measurement equivalence of the JDI was examined
across health care, retailing, and military samples.
Generally small violations of measurement equivalence
were found. The results in both studies indicate that mean
differences in JDI scores (i.e., differences in job satisfaction
across groups) are due to group differences rather than lack
of measurement equivalence.
Earley, P. C., and Kanfer, R. (1985).
The influence of component participation and role models
on goal acceptance, goal satisfaction, and performance.
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes,
36, 378-390.<<BACK
TO LIST
The present investigation examined
the effects of different types of participation (choice) and
role models in goal setting on goal acceptance, goal satisfaction,
and performance. It was hypothesized that choice in setting
a goal and a strategy to achieve the goal would positively benefit
goal acceptance, performance, and goal satisfaction.
In addition, it was predicted that a role model would
differentially influence an individual’s goal acceptance,
goal satisfaction, and performance. One hundred twenty male college students working
on a class scheduling task were exposed to either a high- or
low-performing role model and given various amounts of choice
in the goal-setting process.
The results of two-way analyses of variance demonstrated
that goal acceptance, goal satisfaction, and performance were
highest for individuals given choice over their goal and their
strategy to achieve the goal.
In addition, the results demonstrated that an individual
exposed to a high-performing role model outperformed and had
higher goal acceptance and satisfaction than an individual exposed
to a low-performing model.
The results are discussed as a means for clarifying the
effects of different types of choice in the goal-setting process
and the importance of role-provided information in influencing
an individual’s performance.
Kanfer, R., and Hulin, C. L. (1985).
Individual differences in successful job searches following
lay-off. Personnel
Psychology, 38, 835-848.<<BACK TO LIST
A field study was conducted to
examine attitudinal and behavioral variables associated with
reemployment following job termination.
Thirty-five employees were surveyed within two days following
termination. Of those surveyed, 23 were contacted one month
later regarding employment status.
Analyses revealed that reemployed persons were significantly
more confident of job search skills and had engaged in a greater
number of search behaviors than had individuals who had remained
unemployed. No significant differences between the reemployed
and still unemployed groups were obtained in affective responses
to termination or nonwork-related variables.
The findings suggest that reemployment success is related
to individual differences in expectations of successful job search.
Implications for future research on job loss and reemployment
are discussed.
Ackerman, P. L., Schneider, W., &
Wickens, C. D. (1984). Deciding the existence of a time-sharing
ability: A combined theoretical and methodological approach.
Human Factors, 26, 71-82.<<BACK TO LIST
Experimental and statistical methods for examining individual
differences in dual-task performance and time-sharing ability
are reviewed and criticized. Previous data and analysis procedures
are generally inadequate to evaluate a time-sharing ability.
Errors resulting from unsophisticated use of correlational and
factor analytic procedures are described. Four previous studies
that concern time-sharing are considered in detail. The nature
of task selection, scoring methods, and control of practice and
reliability issues are discussed. Based on a reanalysis of available
data, a time-sharing ability is not rejected. Simulation, incorporation
of theory in planning models, and crucial tests of the hypotheses
are proposed as methods for assessing the time-sharing ability.
Kanfer, R., Sawyer, J., Earley, P. C., & Lind,
E. A. (1984). Information
exchange in evaluation procedures: The effects of input and knowledge
on performance and attitudes.
ERIC Document Reproduction Service, No. ED 246 363.<<BACK TO LIST
Participation in organizational
decisions is thought to have a number of positive effects on
performance and worker attitudes, but it is not clear which elements
of participation are responsible for these positive effects.
The effects of two elements of participation, upward information
input by the worker and the provision of downward knowledge by
a supervisor, were examined in a laboratory setting.
Thirty-eight male and 49 female undergraduates worked
on a task under a performance evaluation procedure that either
did or did not allow them to offer information about their performance
to an evaluator. A
supervisor either did or did not offer information about criteria
for evaluation of performance.
The subject received either a positive or negative outcome
from the evaluation procedure.
Upward information flow and downward information flow
interacted in their effect on task performance, with highest
performance occurring under high upward and high downward information
exchange. Performance
on a subsequent task increased following downward information
on the first task. Upward
information flow produced higher ratings of procedural fairness,
satisfaction with outcomes, and satisfaction with the supervisor.
The results are discussed in terms of their implications
for participatory effects and their implications for the design
of organizational performance appraisal procedures.
Kanfer, R. and Zeiss, A. M. (1983).
Depression , interpersonal standard setting, and judgments
of self-efficacy. Journal
of Abnormal Psychology, 92(3), 319-329.<<BACK TO LIST
The present study investigated
the relationship between standard setting and judgments of self-efficacy
in the domain of interpersonal functioning for depressed and
nondepressed subjects.
Consistent with a self-control model of depression, a
large discrepancy between personal standards and judgments of
personal efficacy for performance was postulated to be related
to depression. Students
who scored above 13 on two administrations of the Beck Depression
Inventory composed the depressed group.
Thirty-nine depressed and 39 nondepressed students rated
their minimal standards for adequate interpersonal performance,
its importance to them, and their judgments of self-efficacy
for the same tasks. Depressed
subjects showed a larger discrepancy between strength of interpersonal
standards and strength of self-efficacy than did the normal subjects.
Depressed subjects expressed a lower strength of self-efficacy
than did nondepressed subjects, but they did not differ on their
interpersonal standards.
Importance and the strength for standards correlated positively
for both depressed and normal subjects.
The present findings are consistent with recent extensions
of Lewinsohn’s model of depression, which suggest that disruptions
in self-evaluation are related to lowered judgments of self-efficacy
for depressed subjects.
Last
Revised: August 2004