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The measurement of effective working styles during entry‐level training
Author(s) -
Warr Peter,
Conner Mark
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of occupational and organizational psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.257
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 2044-8325
pISSN - 0963-1798
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8325.1992.tb00481.x
Subject(s) - psychology , proactivity , competence (human resources) , personality , social psychology , applied psychology , scale (ratio) , entry level , developmental psychology , medical education , medicine , physics , quantum mechanics
Most entry‐level training is directed to the enhancement of specific functional competences in a job. However, it is also important to seek to develop more general styles of effective working. This study distinguishes between intellectual and non‐intellectual working styles, viewing the former primarily in terms of metacognitive processes and the latter as proactivity, social competence and self‐confidence. A Working Styles Index is devised and refined, to permit measurement through judgements made by individuals and by their peers and supervisors. Evidence for internal and test–retest reliability is provided, and validity is illustrated in relation to previously established instruments and ratings made by other people. Analyses of longitudinal data across a year within the national scheme of Youth Training reveal a significant increase in intellectual working style, which is predictable from personality‐scale scores obtained at the outset of training. Applications of the Working Styles Index in processes of review and guidance within training are described.