PSY 4680, Industrial Organizational Psychology 1 UNIT III STUDY GUIDE Employee Assessment and Selection Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 1. Define psychological test, identify the different types of tests (e.g., cognitive ability tests, psychomotor ability tests, knowledge and skill test, personality tests, etc.), and apply these to work-related settings. 2. Analyze how biographical information, interviews, work samples, assessment centers, and electronic assessments are used to select employees. 3. Evaluate the employee recruitment process. 4. Research and apply the basic steps involved in selecting employees, including the steps needed to conduct a validation study. 5. Explain how predictor information is used for selection. 6. Discuss the importance and utility of scientific selection, as well as the legal issues associated with hiring decisions in the United States. Unit Lesson Employee recruitment and selection is a major activity of I/O psychologists. Organizations spend much time and money hiring and training new employees, with researchers estimating that it costs roughly 200% of an employee’s salary to hire and train them (Griffeth & Hom, 2001). By hiring the right employees, organizations can ensure that new employees not only have the skills and abilities to perform the job well, but that they will be a great “fit” for the job (Sujarto, 2011). Studies show that a good fit is associated with important outcomes, such as organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and intentions to quit (Kristof-Brown, 2005). Considering the costs and important outcomes of employee selection, I/O psychologists use systematic approaches to recruit and select the most well-qualified and best-fitting candidates. Employee Selection Employee selection is a very important activity because who you select for a position has large implications, such as ensuring that new employees are able to perform the job well and reducing unnecessary employee turnover (Barrick & Zimmerman, 2009). Typically, selection involves assessing applicants and gathering information about them to determine the extent to which they are qualified and suitable for the job. The information that is gathered is related to the position; job-related information includes details of their work history, personality, interests, and other characteristics. The organization will also provide the employee with critical information about the organization and job. Some even provide a “realistic job preview,” in which they give applicants a candid view of the responsibilities and conditions involved (Suszko & Breaugh, 1986). Reading Assignment Chapter 5: Assessment Methods for Selection and Placement Chapter 6: Selecting Employees Suggested Reading Scroggins, W. A., Thomas, S. L., & Morris, J. A. (2008). Psychological testing in personnel se ...

1. PSY 4680, Industrial Organizational Psychology 1
UNIT III STUDY GUIDE
Employee Assessment and
Selection
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Define psychological test, identify the different types of tests
(e.g.,
cognitive ability tests, psychomotor ability tests, knowledge and
skill test,
personality tests, etc.), and apply these to work-related settings.
2. Analyze how biographical information, interviews, work
samples,
assessment centers, and electronic assessments are used to
select
employees.
3. Evaluate the employee recruitment process.
4. Research and apply the basic steps involved in selecting
employees,
including the steps needed to conduct a validation study.

2. 5. Explain how predictor information is used for selection.
6. Discuss the importance and utility of scientific selection, as
well as the
legal issues associated with hiring decisions in the United
States.
Unit Lesson
Employee recruitment and selection is a major activity of I/O
psychologists.
Organizations spend much time and money hiring and training
new employees,
with researchers estimating that it costs roughly 200% of an
employee’s salary
to hire and train them (Griffeth & Hom, 2001). By hiring the
right employees,
organizations can ensure that new employees not only have the
skills and
abilities to perform the job well, but that they will be a great
“fit” for the job
(Sujarto, 2011). Studies show that a good fit is associated with
important
outcomes, such as organizational commitment, job satisfaction,
and intentions to
quit (Kristof-Brown, 2005). Considering the costs and important
outcomes of
employee selection, I/O psychologists use systematic
approaches to recruit and
select the most well-qualified and best-fitting candidates.
Employee Selection
Employee selection is a very important activity because who

3. you select for a
position has large implications, such as ensuring that new
employees are able to
perform the job well and reducing unnecessary employee
turnover (Barrick &
Zimmerman, 2009). Typically, selection involves assessing
applicants and
gathering information about them to determine the extent to
which they are
qualified and suitable for the job. The information that is
gathered is related to
the position; job-related information includes details of their
work history,
personality, interests, and other characteristics. The
organization will also
provide the employee with critical information about the
organization and job.
Some even provide a “realistic job preview,” in which they give
applicants a
candid view of the responsibilities and conditions involved
(Suszko & Breaugh,
1986).
Reading
Assignment
Chapter 5:
Assessment Methods for
Selection and Placement
Chapter 6:
Selecting Employees

4. Suggested Reading
Scroggins, W. A.,
Thomas, S. L., &
Morris, J. A. (2008).
Psychological testing in
personnel selection,
part II: The refinement
of methods and
standards in employee
selection. Public
Personnel
Management, 37(2),
185-198.
PSY 4680, Industrial Organizational Psychology 2
Assessment Techniques
I/O psychologists use a variety of assessment measures to
gather information
about applicants in order to determine whether they are suitable
for the position.
Depending on the job requirements, they may assess applicants’
cognitive
abilities, psychomotor skills, personality, emotional
intelligence, integrity, ability,
knowledge and skills, and/or vocational interests. When

5. choosing what to
assess, I/O psychologists consider the knowledge, skills,
abilities, and other
characteristics needed to perform the job well (Spector, 2012).
While I/O
psychologists may be involved in administering these
assessments, they also do
much of the foundational work to explore the validity of these
measures,
informing the field by publishing journal articles and research
reports.
An area that has received much attention from I/O psychologists
is the use of
personality measures to select employees. For example,
personality tests are
increasingly used to select police and safety workers (Miller &
Barrett, 2008). A
major issue is that personality is typically assessed through
questionnaires, in
which applicants answer questions related to their personality.
Some personality
traits, such as being conscientious and thorough, make it easy
for applicants to
determine how a good applicant should respond. Therefore,
scores on
personality measures often reflect what the applicant thinks the
organization
wants to see. Many applicants fake “good.” Researchers explore
various ways to
reduce this issue, to encourage applicants to answer truthfully.
For example, in
one study, researchers presented warnings to one group of
applicants and no
warning to a second group, and compared the results.

6. The warning was as follows (Robson, Jones, & Abraham, 2008):
It is critical to note that the inventories have items which are
designed to
detect faking. Research has shown that these questions are able
to
identify individuals who provide inaccurate information about
themselves.
Any person who is detected faking will be eliminated from the
applicant
pool and will be ineligible to win the prize money.
Using research and statistical methods, they found that the
warning did reduce
overall scores in that group, compared to the other group. This
gave some
indication that it is possible to reduce this issue (Robson et al.,
2008). Other
studies show that, while it is easy to misrepresent one’s
personality, this may not
actually impact the predictive validity of these measures.
However, the degree to
which personality actually does predict job performance is an
area that is still
under exploration, as researchers continue to investigate the
utility of these
measures (Morgeson et al., 2007).
Beyond assessment measures, I/O psychologists use a variety of
approaches to
assess the suitability of candidates. A common method includes
the employment
interview. Specifically, I/O psychologists advocate using a
structured interview,

7. in which the interviewer has a set of job-relevant questions that
he or she asks
each applicant. The questions should be asked in the same
order, using the
same wording, to ensure that the responses from applicants are
comparable.
This approach to interviewing may take more time and
resources to develop
than an unstructured interview, however studies show that these
are more valid
than unstructured interviews. This means that they are more
likely to ensure that
the best person for the job is identified. Organizations often ask
for biographical
data, which is specific information about the applicant’s past
experiences and
additional characteristics. These tend to predict future job
performance. Work
PSY 4680, Industrial Organizational Psychology 3
samples are another example of a form of assessment that I/O
psychologists
use for employee selection. This involves providing the
necessary information
and tools for the applicant to complete a relevant job task
(Spector, 2012).
Reliability and Validity
Of key importance in employee selection is the degree to which
selection tools

8. are valid. Specifically, I/O psychologists assess the degree to
which each
selection tool actually predicts future job performance. For
example, if using a
personality measure to assess whether someone is sociable as
part of a
selection process for a sales position, there should be evidence
that people who
are sociable perform this job better than those who are not. If
this is true, then
knowing whether a current sales person is highly sociable
should also tell you
whether that person is a top salesperson in that store. This is
called predictive
validity, and I/O psychologists use a variety of methods to study
the validity of
selection measures, conducting validation studies prior to using
these measures
to make important decisions. This may involve administering
the assessment
measure to existing employees and comparing the scores to each
employee’s
performance appraisal ratings, for example (Spector, 2012).
Another area that concerns I/O psychologists is the degree to
which applicants
view the selection tools as valid, or relevant to the position.
This is referred to as
face validity. A selection tool may have high predictive
validity, however, if
applicants think that the measure assesses something irrelevant,
they could
perceive selection decisions as unfair. Selection tools often
involve asking
questions or gathering information that is personal in nature,
and if applicants

9. get the impression that the measure is unnecessarily invasive,
this could cause
them to withdraw from the selection process and lose interest in
the organization
(Ekuma, 2012). Applicants tend to see certain approaches to
selection, such as
work samples, as relevant and valid, and these often tend to be
good predictors
of future job performance (Spector, 2012). Once a selection
process is in place,
organizations can recruit applicants for the position.
Recruitment
Recruitment involves identifying and communicating with
potential applicants,
who may be a good fit for the organization or for a specific
position. The degree
to which an organization needs to invest in recruitment
strategies depends on
the ease by which they are able to find suitable candidates.
Organizations use
different sources to recruit, including advertising, employee
referral, employment
agencies, school recruiters, walk-ins, and the internet (Spector,
2012). If a
position is highly specialized or is a leadership position, for
example, more
targeted recruitment strategies can help ensure the best match is
attained. The
recruitment method has implications for how the employee will
respond once on
the job. For example, one study showed that during the first two
years,
employees may be more likely to leave the position voluntarily
if they were

10. recruited through formal methods, as opposed to through a
personal referral to
the position. This is because those who were recruited through a
personal
connection likely have a more realistic understanding of what
the job entails and
are not surprised by the demands or expectations of the position
(Weller,
Holtom, Matiaske, & Mellewigt, 2009). Regardless of the
recruitment source,
once individuals express interest in the position, the employee
selection process
begins.
PSY 4680, Industrial Organizational Psychology 4
Summary
I/O psychologists invest much time and resources into
establishing effective and
valid employee recruitment and selection approaches. They use
scientific
methods to explore the utility and limitations of assessment
approaches. This
helps organizations to choose the best assessment approaches
needed for their
particular positions. In addition to these goals of increasing
predictive and face
validity, scientific approaches to employee selection helps to

11. ensure that
applicants are treated fairly. If all applicants are assessed in the
same,
structured and systematic way, this leaves less opportunity for
applicants to be
rejected due to irrelevant factors, and it even prevents
discrimination in the
workplace by ensuring that all candidates are assessed in the
same way, using
the same job-relevant criteria (Spector, 2012).
References
Barrick, M. R., & Zimmerman, R. D. (2009). Hiring for
retention and
performance. Human Resource Management, 48(2), 183-206.
Ehrhart, K. (2006). Job characteristic beliefs and personality as
antecedents of
subjective person–job fit. Journal of Business & Psychology,
21(2), 193-
226.
Ekuma, K. (2012). The importance of predictive and face
validity in employee
selection and ways of maximizing them: An assessment of three
selection methods. International Journal Of Business &
Management,
7(22), 115-122. Doi:10.5539/ijbm.v7n22p115

12. Griffeth, R. W., & Hom, P. W. (2001). Retaining valued
employees. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kristof-Brown, A. C. (2005). Consequences of individuals’ fit
at work: A meta-
analysis of person-job, person-organization, person-group, and
person-
supervisor fit. Personnel Psychology, 58(2), 281-342.
Miller, C. E., & Barrett, G. V. (2008). The coachability and
fakability of
personality-based selection tests used for police selection.
Public
Personnel Management, 37(3), 339-351.
Morgeson, F. P., Campion, M. A., Dipboye, R. L., Hollenbeck,
J. R., Murphy, K.,
& Schmitt, N. (2007). Are we getting fooled again? Coming to
terms with
limitations in the use of personality tests for personnel
selection.
Personnel Psychology, 60(4), 1029-1049. doi:10.1111/j.1744-
6570.2007.00100.x
Robson, S. M., Jones, A., & Abraham, J. (2008). Personality,
faking, and

13. convergent validity: a warning concerning warning statements.
Human
Performance, 21(1), 89-106. doi:10.1080/08959280701522155
Spector, P. E. (2012). Industrial and organizational behavior:
Research and
practice (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Suszko, M. K., & Breaugh, J. A. (1986). The effects of realistic
job previews on
applicant self-selection and employee turnover, satisfaction, and
coping
ability. Journal Of Management, 12(4), 513.
Sutarjo. (2011). Ten ways of managing person-organization fit
(P-O Fit)
effectively: A literature study. International Journal Of
Business & Social
Science, 2(21), 226-233.
Weller, I., Matiaske, W., Holtom, B. C., & Mellewigt, T.
(2009). Level and time
effects of recruitment sources on early voluntary turnover.
Journal Of
Applied Psychology, 94(5), 1146-1162.