Several studies have shown that the elderly do not perform well on the Piagetian problems of logical thinking; the present set of studies aimed at demonstrating that the elderly maintain the competence to solve such problems. The first study performed by the authors assessed performance of 60 noninstitutionalized middle-class elderly females on…

Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) was used to discriminate counselors rated as highly effective, as average, or as ineffective. Results indicated significant correlations between tested personality characteristics and rated job performances. Employment level, sex, age, certification, and degree status were of no significance in predicting…

Performance expectancy and satisfaction were investigated in terms of the rate of change in performance outcomes. In a two-by-two factorial design, the direction (improving or deteriorating) and rate (accelerating or decelerating) of change in performance were manipulated using false feedback in a computerized math game. In accord with performance…

The study focused on the individual attributes predictive of performance and work satisfaction in two contrasting work situations: (1) with a simple task to be perceived as low on job structural attributes (LJSA) and (2) with a more complex task designed to have a higher level of job structural attributes (HJSA). The job structural variables of…

The study integrates various elements of past approaches to job design. It focuses on determining individual characteristics associated with performance and work satisfaction on a simulated maintenance task designed to be seen as low in job structural attributes (LJSA) by one group and the same task designed to be perceived as high in job…

Describes various performance measures used in a study to investigate the relation of performance pace to age and information processing ability. Test results indicated no differences in performance pace but differences in performance quality between young and older individuals, with implications for hiring and training older workers. (MF)

The impact of false information concerning the effect of the menstrual cycle on test performance and subjects' perception of the adequacy of that performance were investigated. Women (N=65) were studied either during the premenstrual or midcycle phase. Subjects were given one of three interpretations: (1) they should do well because of their…

The control function of an organization includes the comparison of set management goals and performance. A trend has emerged in recent years to replace subjective judgments by objective measurements of performance in libraries. The credibility of statistical data, however, depends on accuracy used in gathering, logic applied in assemblage and…

The effect of externally-mediated goal setting on intrinsic motivation was examined using a laboratory assembly task. College male subjects (N=80) were randomly assigned in a factorial design including two conditions of goal setting (assigned vs. no goals) and two conditions of initial task interest (interesting vs. boring task). The results show…

In a variable distance 10-trial ringtoss, it was found that success required that a subject exceed his expected score. Therefore, the probability of success was the probability of exceeding the expected score on the 10 throws (Ps10); and this is shown to be different from the probability of scoring a ringer in a single throw (Ps1) from the same…

Two rating instruments for evaluating the performance of men in Navy jobs by supervisors were developed based on the need to know how effectively men of varying ability perform different tasks. Specific Navy jobs were selected for the development of the performance instruments according to the following job factors: Highly populated,…

A sample of scientists and engineers participated in a study designed to assess moderating influences of facets of perceived cohesiveness and collaborative problem-solving on the task characteristics-individual performance relationship between task difficulty and individual performance. (Author)

Investigated the relationship between self-esteem and performance outcome as related to causal attribution. Results indicated that: (1) success was attributed more to ability and effort; (2) performance outcomes consistent with self-esteem were attributed more to ability and task difficulty; and (3) performance outcomes inconsistent with…

These conference proceedings contain statements from those concerned with various aspects of research on job performance measures. Following introductory remarks, the formal presentations of work and ideas include "Air Training Command Interest in the Criterion Problem," by Donald E. Meyer, "The Criterion Problem: A Personnel…

The influence of empathy on observers' attributions for an outcome achieved by an actor was examined as well as self-presentational strategies when observers either expected to assume the actor's role later (Role-Playing). On videotape, observer-subjects (N=160) watched an actor succeed or fail at an interpersonal influence task, after being given…