Work methods: an often neglected factor underlying individual differences.

Seashore, Robert H.

doi:10.1037/h0055373

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Still another hypothesis to explain the predictive power of complex work sample tests is Seashore's (1939) concept of "workmethods." It may be that a miniature work sample task is apt to elicit realistic work methods or work habits which individuals use to solve specific problems.…”

Section: Personnel Psychologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Realistic Work Sample Tests: A Review

Asher

Sciarrino

1974

Personnel Psychology

121

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INFORMATION with the highest validity seems to have a pobnt-topoint correspondence with the criterion. For instance, in a review article of the scorable application blank, Asher (1972) concluded that biographical information showed substantially higher predictive validity when job proficiency was the criterion, than other predictors including tests of intelligence, personality, interest, perception, motor skill, and mechanical ability.The generalization seemed t o be that factual and verifiable historical information about applicants was the best predictor of future performance in specific positions. This implication was based on comparisons with tests designed t o measure "simple" dimensions. Simple in this context means a pure or single dimension of behavior.If there is merit in a theory about predictive power in a pointto-point connection between the predictor and criterion space, then tests of single dimensions should be less powerful predictors than more complex tests such as work sample tests designed to be a miniature replica of the criterion task. The intention was not to include in this review ready-made standardized tests, but only work samples especially created for specific criterion tasks.In a search of the literature, work sample tests were classified into the categories of either motor or verbal. A work sample was identified as "motor" if the task was a physical manipulation of things as, for example, tracing a complex electrical circuit, operating a sewing machine, making a tooth from plaster, or repairing a gear box. A work sample test was classified as "verbal" if there was a problem situation that was primarily language-oriented or people-oriented. For instance, the in-basket problem required the subject to deal with a set of materials which a company manager

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Section: Personnel Psychologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Realistic Work Sample Tests: A Review

Asher

Sciarrino

1974

Personnel Psychology

121

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Section: Characteristics Of Deliberate Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The critical importance of a correct method or strategy has also been demonstrated in date calculation (Addis & O. A. Parsons, as described in Ericsson & Faivre, 1988), mental multiplication (Chase & Ericsson, 1982;Staszewski, 1988), absolute judgment of colors and pitches (for a review see Ericsson & Faivre, 1988), motor skills (Norman, 1976), and methods of work (R. H. Seashore, 1939).The inability of some subjects to discover new methods has sometimes been interpreted as evidence for basic cognitive or perceptual deficits, especially for performance of seemingly simple tasks. However, specific instruction or the generation of new methods can eventually enhance improvement temporarily arrested at suboptimal levels.…”

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confidence: 99%

The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance.

Ericsson

Krampe²,

Tesch-Römer³

1993

Psychological Review

6,954

187

5,168

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The theoretical framework presented in this article explains expert performance as the end result of individuals' prolonged efforts to improve performance while negotiating motivational and external constraints. In most domains of expertise, individuals begin in their childhood a regimen of effortful activities (deliberate practice) designed to optimize improvement. Individual differences, even among elite performers, are closely related to assessed amounts of deliberate practice. Many characteristics once believed to reflect innate talent are actually the result of intense practice extended for a minimum of 10 years. Analysis of expert performance provides unique evidence on the potential and limits of extreme environmental adaptation and learning.Our civilization has always recognized exceptional individuals, whose performance in sports, the arts, and science is vastly superior to that of the rest of the population. Speculations on the causes of these individuals' extraordinary abilities and performance are as old as the first records of their achievements. Early accounts commonly attribute these individuals' outstanding performance to divine intervention, such as the influence of the stars or organs in their bodies, or to special gifts (Murray, 1989). As science progressed, these explanations became less acceptable. Contemporary accounts assert that the characteristics responsible for exceptional performance are innate and are genetically transmitted.The simplicity of these accounts is attractive, but more is needed. A truly scientific account of exceptional performance must completely describe both the development leading to exceptional performance and the genetic and acquired characteristics that mediate it. This account must specify the critical differences between exceptional and ordinary performers. It must also show that any postulated genetic differences can be hereditary and are plausible from an evolutionary perspective. Theoreticians in behavioral genetics (Plomin, DeFries, & McClearn, 1990) We thank Peter Usinger and Stefanie Heizmann for their help in the data collection and Catherine Ashworth, Gregory Carey, Robert Crutcher, Janet Grassia, Reid Hastie, Stefanie Heizmann, Charles Judd, Ronald Kellogg, Robert Levin, Clayton Lewis, William Oliver, Peter Poison, Robert Rehder, Kurt Schlesinger, Vivian Schneider, and James Wilson for their valuable comments on earlier drafts of this article. Helpful suggestions and valuable criticism by Richard Shiffrin on previously submitted versions of this article are gratefully acknowledged.Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to K. Anders Ericsson, who is now at the Department of Psychology R-54, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-1051. because observed behavior is the result of interactions between environmental factors and genes during the extended period of development. Therefore, to better understand expert and exceptional performance, we must require that the account specify the different environmental factors that cou...

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“…Academic psychologists continued to conduct research relevant to business and industry. Examples would be: research on the acquisition of typing skills (Book, 1924(Book, , 1925Seashore, 1930), research on the relation between performance at laboratory motor skills tasks and performance of trainees in operating knitting machines (Seashore, 1932), research on job requirements and selection tests for naval ship personnel, research on the development of tests for selecting operators of electrical substations, and research on accident prevention for cab drivers (see Viteles, 1921Viteles, , 1930Viteles, , 1967.…”

Section: Between the Wars In Academiamentioning

confidence: 99%

A brief history of applied cognitive psychology

Hoffman

Deffenbacher

1992

Applied Cognitive Psychology

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Currently, applied cognitive psychology seems to be a 'hot topic'. What are the origins of this area of specialization? In this article we survey the history of applied cognitive psychology, beginning with the earliest applied psychological research of the late 18OOs, through the impact on psychology of the World Wars, through the advent of the information processing view of the 1950s, and up to the recent flurry of work on topics in cognitive science, such as humanxomputer interaction. We also consider recent changes in the structure of American professional societies, economic changes and funding patterns, and other factors that have contributed to the advent of this new field. Although our discussion is largely descriptive, we point to some of the influences on applied psychology, such as the practical concerns that have arisen outside the laboratory. Our discussion is best characterized as a historically contextualized cautionary tale that asserts the values of neofunctionalism for applied cognitive psychology.

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Work methods: an often neglected factor underlying individual differences.

Cited by 31 publications

References 17 publications

Realistic Work Sample Tests: A Review

Realistic Work Sample Tests: A Review

The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance.

A brief history of applied cognitive psychology

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