This report refines and improves upon a conceptual model and a mathematical procedure, based upon a blend of Likelihood Function Estimation (LIFE) and utility theory. Empirical studies conducted by the Air Force Military Personnel Center in 1975 and 1976 have shown that the LIFE procedure can be very useful in the prediction and study of…

Three experimental psychological tests were investigated to determine if they added significantly to the prediction of eight drug abuse criteria when combined with a basic predictor set consisting of background variables only. Of the four tests investigated, only one, the Life Values Questionnaire appeared to add any significant unique variance to…

Over the past nine years 462 sophomore college students in 23 classes in General Psychology were administered at least one test of intelligence. Coefficients of correlation were computed between these scores and the scores on author-made objective subject matter tests ("Tests") and the performance on "Non-tests" (experiments, reviews,…

The relationship between true ability (operationally defined as the number of items for which the examinee actually knew the correct answer) and the effects of guessing upon observed test variance was investigated. Three basic hypotheses were treated mathematically: there is no functional relationship between true ability and guessing success;…

Three aspects of organization -- structure, resources, and leadership attitudes -- were examined in a longitudinal study of 16 health and welfare agencies to determine which factors best predicted the rate of program innovation. Study results revealed that occupational specialization was the strongest structural predictor, that professional…

A pilot study investigated the role of one response index (specifically, subject's ratings of their spelling accuracy) that was presumed to be predictive of the amount of practice needed to acquire the spelling of a word and gathered data relevant to the nature of practice needed on a word. The study was conducted to aid in the design of a…

To test the predictive efficiency of the Holland Occupational Classification and the related hypotheses concerned with occupational achievement and stability of career from Holland's theory of careers, the classification was applied to a national sample of 973 male retrospective work histories. Analyses were performed by organizing and…

A definition of a suppressor variable is presented which is based on the relation of the semipartial correlation to the zero order correlation. Advantages of the definition are given. (Author/JKS)

The distribution of males and females on a job, occupational classification, and job content were examined as predictors of job sex stereotypes in two studies. Results indicate that the base rate of males and females in the job is the most important predictor of job sextypes. (Author)

The relationship between quantitative predictor variables and the probability of occurrence of one or more levels of a qualitative criterion variable can be analyzed by quantal response techniques. This paper presents and discusses two quantal response models, comparing them to multiple linear regression and discriminant analysis. (Author/JKS)

A suppressor variable is a regressor in a multiple regression which contributes more to the squared multiple correlation than the magnitude of its simple correlation with the outcome variable. An example of such a situation is provided for teaching purposes. (JKS)

Male students worked under a supervisor who was male or female, autocratic or democratic, and possessed a sex-role congruent or incongruent job title. For female supervision only, the more traditionally incongruent the situation, the more unfavorable were the verbal reactions elicited. Task performance and written evaluation of the supervisor were…

Three personality measures were administered twice each with an interval of four weeks between administrations, and the response consistency of these tests was analyzed. The evidence is equivocal. The confounding of consistency effects with other sources of variance remains a problem. (Author/CTM)

After 1 year in the Auburn University School of Pharmacy, 77 students were analyzed to determine: what variables may reliably predict academic success, with success being defined as grade point average; what effect the PCAT has on predicting academic success; and whether a quantitative formula should be used to calculate probable success. (SW)

Information available from birth certificates was used to preduct the psychological and educational status of approximately 1,000 randomly sampled first-grade children. (Author)