Employee Selection

Business Psychology
Assessment Methods for Selection and Placement
Syed Md. Sajjad Kabir
Lecturer, Dept. of Psycholgy, CU
SMS Kabir, smskabir@psy.jnu.ac.bd;SMS Kabir, smskabir@psy.jnu.ac.bd;
smskabir218@gmail.comsmskabir218@gmail.com
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Psychological Tests
 Psychological tests are employee selection devices.
it must meet the criteria – standardization, objectivity, norms, reliability,
and validity.
• Standardization: the consistency of procedures and conditions under which
people take tests.
•Objectivity: involves accurate and consistent test scoring that is unbiased
by the scorer’s personal characteristics and beliefs.
•Test norms: the scores of a group of people who are similar to persons
taking the test; norms serve as a point of comparison for individual test
scores.
•Reliability: the consistency of responses; it can be determined by the test-
retest, equivalent-forms, or split-halves methods.
•Validity: concern with how well a test measures what it is intended to
measure.
Business psychologists categorize tests into two ways –
 How they are constructed and administered, and
 The skills and abilities they are designed to measure.SMS Kabir, smskabir@psy.jnu.ac.bd;SMS Kabir, smskabir@psy.jnu.ac.bd;
22

Group vs. Individually Administered Tests
1. Group tests: administer to more than one person at a time.
Administrator controls the start and stop times; test taker
determines the rest.
2. Individual tests: give to one person at a time. The test
administrator controls test item by item.
Objective vs. Open-Ended Tests
1. An objective test: requires the test-taker to choose from a set of
possible responses.
2. An open-ended test: requires the test-taker to generate a response.
Psychological Tests
Paper-and-Pencil vs. Performance Tests
1. Paper-and-pencil tests: present in written form and responses are
written.
2. Performance tests: involve the manipulation of apparatus,
equipment, materials, or tools.
Power vs. Speed Tests
1. Power tests: give the test taker almost unlimited time; the concern is
with the quality of performance.
2. Speed tests: strict time limit.
33

Ability Tests
A person’s capacity to do or learn to do a task.
1.Cognitive abilities: involve information processing and
learning (e.g., intelligence).
a. Include general tests of intelligence and tests of specific
abilities.
b. They are usually paper-and pencil, group tests. May be
nonverbal where test takers aren’t proficient in the local
language.
c. They tend to be efficient, valid, and low-cost predictors of job
performance for many jobs.
2. Psychomotor abilities: involve body movements and
manipulation of objects.
a. Include the ability to manipulate objects and use tools.
b. Involve coordination between senses and movement and
accuracy of movements.
c. Often are performance tests.
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Knowledge and Skill (Achievement) TestsKnowledge and Skill (Achievement) Tests
 1.1. They assess a person’s present level ofThey assess a person’s present level of
proficiency.proficiency.
a.a. Knowledge test assesses what the person knows.Knowledge test assesses what the person knows.
b. Skill test assesses what a person is able to do.b. Skill test assesses what a person is able to do.
 2. They emphasize prior knowledge and skills,2. They emphasize prior knowledge and skills,
differentiating them from ability tests.differentiating them from ability tests.
 3.3. Some knowledge and skill tests are generalSome knowledge and skill tests are general
(math or reading), some are more specific(math or reading), some are more specific
(typing).(typing).
 4.4. May be pencil-and-paper or performance tests.May be pencil-and-paper or performance tests.
55

Personality Tests
1. A personality trait is a predisposition or tendency to behave in a
particular way across different situations.
a. Personality traits can be relevant for job performance
and other behaviors on the job.
2. A personality test assesses personality traits.
a. May assess one trait or many.
b. May group people into types (trait combinations; e.g.,
extroverted vs. introverted).
c. Generally is a paper-and-pencil test.
3.Have been popular in organizations but have some problems.
These include:
a. Applicants may fake responses.
b. Do not appear to be as job relevant as other assessment
devices.
4. Personality traits shown to be relevant to job performance do a
reasonably good job of predicting performance.
66

Five Factor Model (FFM)
 1. Neuroticism – insecure, anxious, depressed versus
emotionally stable.
2. Extroversion – sociable, assertive versus timid and reserved.
3. Openness to Experience – creative, curious versus practical
with narrow interests.
4. Agreeableness – likeable, cooperative versus antagonistic.
5. Conscientiousness – hard-working, dependable versus lazy
and disorganized.
Self-Report Personality Inventories
It includes items dealing with specific situations, symptoms, or
feelings.
Applicants are asked to indicate how well each item describes
themselves or how much they agree with each item.
77

Projective Techniques
The task is to tell what is seen in the figure or picture.
The rationale is that people will project their thoughts, wishes, and
feelings on to the stimulus in an effort to give it meaning.
1. Rorschach Inkblot Test –subjects are shown 10 standardized inkblots
and asked to describe what they see in the figures.
2. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) – subjects are asked to respond to
30 ambiguous pictures of people and situations.
Projective tests are time-consuming and must be administered
individually.
Examiners must be thoroughly trained and experienced.
Emotional Intelligence Tests
Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability people have to control and
recognize emotions in themselves and others.
In theory this makes people more socially skilled, enabling them to be
aware of and to control their impact on others.
1. The trait type assesses EI as a personality characteristic that is accessible
to the person’s awareness.
2. The information processing type is based on the assumption that people
cannot directly report their EI because it is not accessible to awareness.SMS Kabir, smskabir@psy.jnu.ac.bd;SMS Kabir, smskabir@psy.jnu.ac.bd;
88

Integrity Tests
 An integrity test is designed to predict whether or not an employee
will engage in counterproductive or dishonest behavior on the job.
 Examples include cheating, poor performance, sabotage, and
theft; sometimes absence and turnover.
1. An overt integrity test assesses attitudes and prior behavior.
2. A personality integrity test assesses personality characteristics
found to predict counterproductive behavior.
Vocational Interest Tests
1. A vocational interest test matches either the interests or
personality of the test taker to those of people in various
occupations and occupational categories. Personality is measured
with a personality-type test; interests with a preference test.
2. The test taker’s answers are matched to those of people in
different occupations to see how well s/he fits each occupation.
The match between a person’s vocational interests and those of
people in occupations is presumed to predict satisfaction with an
occupation.
3. Are most useful for vocational guidance, e.g., choosing a career or
changing to a new one.
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