Fall Conference
Program
Baltimore, Maryland
September 24-26, 1997
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
General Information
MAPAC Training Workshop
8:30 Registration & Coffee
9:00 Training Workshop
AM: Legal Issues in Selecting Law Enforcement Personnel
PM: Selecting Law Enforcement Personnel: What We Know in 1997
Mike Aamodt, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Radford University
Bobbie Raynes
Director of Training & Development
Employee Testing and Development, Inc.
AM: The morning portion of this session will be devoted to discussing the legal aspects of selecting employees, with the emphasis on police officers. Topics such as adverse impact (how to measure, how to avoid), banding validity, and affirmative action will be covered.
PM: The first part of the afternoon will be devoted to discussing the validity of techniques used in police selection (e.g. personality, cognitive ability, education). Results from several meta-analysis studies will be reviewed for each assessment technique. The afternoon will be concluded with a discussion on screening out applicants who will become difficult employees (e.g. whiners, no people, yes people, bullies). The concept of difficult employees will be addressed with data from three law enforcement agencies.
8:00 Registration & Coffee
8:30 MAPAC Business Meeting
9:30 The 7 Humorous Habits of Highly Effective Presenters
Ronald Berk, Ph.D.
Professor of Biostatistics and Measurement
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MDIntegrating humor into technical and professional presentations can be as difficult as preparing for the discussion itself. Many professions, including employee selection, are plagued with jargon, technical terms, and bland topics which are common ingredients for torpid audiences. Dr. Berk will discuss some techniques to galvanize your audience=s attention through the use of humor, while not detracting from the material.
10:30 Assessing Ethics for Law Enforcement Officers
Stephen Vicchio, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy
College of Notre Dame
Baltimore, MDHiring only the best police applicants is essential for public safety. Not only should our police force be competent, know the law, and be physically fit, but they should also be honest and ethical. In recent news, many cover stories have targeted questionable behaviors of police. However, assessing ethics presents unique measurement challenges. Dr. Vicchio will discuss his current work and research in measuring ethics and integrity for law enforcement personnel.
11:30 Lunch
1:00 Strategies for Assessing Physical Abilities
Deborah Gebhardt, Ph.D., FASCM
President
Human Performance Systems
Hyattsville, MDThis paper addresses the different methodologies that can be used to (1) assess physical performance and (2) ensure the tests are valid predictors of job performance. Included in the presentation will be information related to the types of job analysis data needed to develop physical performance assessments, the types of assessments used in the workplace, and methods for validating a physical performance test battery.
2:00 Competency-Based Promotional Assessment at the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
David Pollock, Ph.D.
Personnel Research Psychologist
Immigration and Naturalization Service
Washington DCThe U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service recently implemented a competency-based system for promoting individuals into supervisory and managerial positions in its Officer Corps occupations. This presentation will describe the reasons this system was developed, the steps taken in the construction of the system, the success of the implementation process to date, and the expected impact of the system on the organization. Information about the linkage of the system to staffing policy and to the identification of training needs will be presented.
3:15 Understanding Raters Cognitive Processes: Why Bother?
David Day, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PAThe practical importance of understanding raters= cognitive processes has been questioned. Specifically, the contributions of researchers have been challenged in terms of how their findings might help improve the quality of appraisal systems as they are used in organizations. This presentation will briefly review the popular models of raters= cognitive processes, then discuss how such models can help improve performance appraisals practically, legally, and psychometrically. In particular, the use of frame-of-reference rater training to understand raters= cognitive processes will be highlighted. There will also be a discussion of the important practical concerns associated with performance ratings in organizations.
4:15 Adjournment
5:30 Social
MAPAC in New York City!
Be sure to mark your calendars for our winter meeting, which will be held in the Big Apple January, 28-30, 1998. Conference information and confirmation of dates will be available in late 1997.
8:00 Coffee & Registration
9:30 Putting Personality Into Selection -- The USPS Experience
Ann Quigley
Personnel Psychologist
United States Postal Service
Washington DCMany organizations are looking to personality assessments to increase test validity and reduce adverse impact. The literature indicates these benefits may result when personality assessments are added to selection processes. However, employers are often at a loss as to how to effectively implement such measures. USPS initiated a predictive study in 1995 and has encountered a number of technical and practical issues not typically addressed in the literature. This presentation will address these issues and highlight needs for both research and practice.
10:45 Flight From g in Employment Testing
Linda Gottfredson, Ph.D.
Professor of Educational Studies
University of DelawareThe disparate impact standard in employment testing is evolving into a de facto ban on cognitive tests. A recent step in that direction is the Department of Justice=s effort to promote nationwide, the non-cognitive police entrance exam which it helped to develop in Nassau County, New York. This example is used to illustrate the folly of failing to select for intelligence when jobs require judgment and problem solving, as most do. Efforts to eliminate cognitive tests represent nothing less than the repudiation of a modern society=s most important resource -- its intellectual capital. Dr. Gottfredson will discuss the implications of not using cognitive ability tests and other aptitude measures for employment decisions.
12:15 Program Adjournment
IPMAAC/MAPAC Training: Oral Examination Course
November 5-7, 1997
Baltimore, Maryland
IPMAAC Members: $100.00
Non-Members: $150.00
MAPAC Members: Free
Contact: Robyn Kohen at 410-545-5630
MAPAC is now On the World Wide Web (www)
With the help and generosity of IPMAAC's Bill Waldron, MAPAC now has a home on IPMAAC's homepage. We can be found at http://www.ipmaac.org under the MAPAC text.
MAPAC E-Mail List
Join the MAPAC E-mail list and receive advanced conference notification, participate in lively discussions, and share information with other assessment professionals. Send a message to: listserv@ube.ubalt.edu and write in the body of the message: subscribe MAPAC your name. Questions? Call David Hamill at 410-545-5574.