Industrial and Organizational PsychologyAssessment Methods For Selection

Copyright Paul E. Spector, All rights reserved, March 15, 2005

Psychological Test Characteristics

• Group vs. individual

• Objective vs. open-ended

• Paper and pencil vs. performance

• Power vs. speed

Test Types

• Ability Tests– Cognitive ability

– Psychomotor ability

•  Knowledge and skill or achievement

•  Personality

•  Emotional Intelligence: Trait vs. Information Processing

•  Integrity: overt vs. personality

•  Vocational interest

• Drug testing

Biographical Information

• Biographical inventory or BIB

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• Detailed information about a person’s background

•  Empirical vs. rational

•  Predictive of job performance

Interviews

• Used in almost every hiring situation

• Most acceptable to college students in US and France (Steiner & Gilliland, 1996

•  Relates to cognitive ability (Huffcutt et al., 1996)

•  Structured vs. unstructured

•  Structured much more valid in predicting performance

Work Samples

• Simulation of actual job tasks

• Good predictors of future job performance

• Acceptability by applicants because of obvious job relevance

• High face validity

Assessment Centers

• Simulation of management and other white collar jobs

• 44% of British employers who hire college students use (Keenan, 1995)

• In US used mainly for promotion and selection of managers

• Can also be used for employee development

• Overall scores valid predictors of performance

• Dimension scores often not valid

• Assesses how person fits role (Russell & Domm, 1995,

Electronic Assessment

• Electronic administration of psychological test

•  Web-based assessment

•  Can administer customized test

•  Makes scoring easier and quicker

•  Tailored testing

•  Trend or wave of the future?