Personality tests, do they work

PERSONALITY TESTS: ARE THEY EFFECTIVE?

SOME GROUND RULES FOR ALL OF US

...passionately curiouswww.facebook.com/IdeaPreachers

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1. Everyone must participate, give their opinions. Do not think what you say is not important, all opinions count.

2. We will respect everyone’s input(s)

3. The most appreciable approach will be to come up, and show what you want to explain (draw/write and show- there is nothing like visual learning!!)

4. We should have everyone taking turns to speak or come up with a topic every week (if the sessions are not cancelled due to any unforeseen circumstance)

LET US DISCUSS…

IdeaPreachers...passionately curious www.facebook.com/IdeaPreachers

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1. What do you know about personality tests?

2. Do you know what is measured?

3. How do these tests measure?

4. Are they effective?

5. What can we (HR) do to maximize use of these tests?

WHAT ARE PERSONALITY TESTS?


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-written or computerized tests used to measure1. traits as general patters of behaviour2. show a candidate’s standing relative to other people

- how? - By gauging the responses of a candidate to a set of questions,

these tests ‘claim’ to create a picture of a candidate’s personality

- What are measured?- 1. sociability- 2. adaptability- 3. creativity- 4. personal organization and a lot more…

WHY PERSONALITY TESTS?


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1. search for more convincing and concrete ways of assessing candidature

2. They are quick and easy to administer

3. Easily interpretable by someone who has been trained and

4. Saves a lot of time and effort in shortlisting candidates

APPROACHES


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1. Nomothetic :a. Self-reportb. Self-presentationEx: Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, Myers-Briggs, Hogan Personality Inventory, etc.,

2. Idiographic or Projective Tests: Ex: Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), Rorschach test are some famous idiographic tests

ImportantThere are no right or wrong answers in the tests, but useful insights can be

formed on personal choices of a candidate and how they are likely to behave at work.

APPROACHES


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WHAT ARE THE ISSUES YOU THINK MIGHT ARISE WITH ADOPTING SUCH TESTS?


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Important to ask..1. Is personality the only factor behind job performance?

2. Is the relation between personality and job performance linear, i.e. straight forward?

3. Are the tests valid and reliable? 1. Face Validity- High FV does not make a test valid2. Content Validity – job analysis is important3. Most important- Predictive/Criterion related validity which is the extent to which

a test or questionnaire predicts some future or desired outcome, for example work behaviour or on-the-job performance.

4. Can the test takers fake?

WHAT ARE THE ISSUES YOU THINK MIGHT ARISE WITH ADOPTING SUCH TESTS?


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More deeper issues:1. Can they test across gender/race/other segregations?2. Can they the whole person or the whole job dimension?3. Sadly, none of the tests are conclusive predictors of performance


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Can we see the whole picture here!!!


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Assessment Method Predictive Validity

Assessment Centres (multiple methods)

.65

Behavioural Interviews .4 – .6

Work-sample Tests .54

Ability Tests .53

Modern Personality Tests .39

Biographical data .38

References .23

Traditional Interviews .05 – .19

WHAT CAN HR DO TO GET THE MOST OUT OF ADOPTING SUCH TESTS?


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a. Improve integration between job requirements and associated behaviours-‘Job analysis is a must’

b. Only administer statistically validated tests that reflect your industry/workplace

c. Used computer based testing methods to reduce faking/cheating-Social desirability scales – these scales are designed to detect overly favourable answering by an individual-Consistency scales – these scales measure the level of consistency of answering, often those who fake are less consistent-Bogus items – these items ask about knowing or doing things that are not real, therefore if an individual endorses these then they are lying or exaggerating their results-Timing of item responses – slower response times indicate a person may be over thinking the question and therefore may be trying to falsify their responses

WHAT CAN HR DO TO GET THE MOST OUT OF ADOPTING SUCH TESTS?


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d. Make personality tests part of your selection regime

Guilford & Fruchter (1978) : “In general, if there is a choice between lengthening of tests in a battery to

make them more reliable and adding more tests of different kinds that contribute unique valid variances, the decision should certainty go to the second alternative.”

We can therefore increase the validity of testing by using a battery of different assessments or methods. This also explains why assessment centres that have multiple measures then do have higher validity.

LET US DECIDE ON NEXT WEEK’S TOPIC

YOUR OPINIONS PLEASE..


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Personality tests, do they work