Different Types of Testing
Extraversion
Sociable, talkative, fun-loving, affectionate. Found to be particularly effective in predicting job performance. Most consistent correlate with "leadership." _________scored higher in striving for status, that is, working to perform at a higher level than their peers. Correlates well with managerial level.
Graduate Management Admission Test
Standard test used by business school admissions since 1954. 4 hours. 41 verbal questions, 2 essays, 37 quantitative questions.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Test takers asked to respond to 30 ambiguous pictures of people and situations. (Projective test)
Rorscharch Inkblot test
Test takers shown 10 inkblot items and asked to describe what they see in each. Problems include subjective bias when interpreting the tests due to few of the tests having "objective scoring keys." (Projective test)
Situational Judgement Tests
Test that assesses behavior and performance and judgement in job related situations. High scores on ____________ correlate highly with cognitive ability tests.
Interest Test
Test to assess a person's interest and preference and tend to be used more for career counseling than job selection. Scores show that a persons interest is compatible with interests of successful people in that career.
Power Test
Test with no time limit. Often contains more difficult items than a speed test.
Proactive Personality Scale
Was developed to measure other specific personality characteristics such as introversion, self-esteem, sociability, emotional maturity, and proactivity. Composed of 17 items to which respondents indicate the extent of their agreement or disagreement. Those who scored highly on this test were more successful in finding satisfying employment than did those who scored low.
Guilford-Zimmerman Tempermant Survey
Widely used paper-and-pencil personality test. 300 items are statements rather than questions, and applicant responds by checking "YES" or "NO." Test yields separate scores for 10 independent personality traits.
Neuroticism
Worried, insecure, nervous, high strung.
Wonderlic Personnel Test
This 50-item measure of general mental ability to understand instructions, solve job related problems, and propose new ideas to be applied. It is the most popular test for selection, placement, promotion, and reassignment. Used in business industry for positions such as flight attendant, bank teller, store manager, and industrial engineer. It has a 12 minute limit.
Miller Analogies Cognitive Ability Test
Used for selection of graduate students and employees for jobs of moderate to high levels of complexity in business and industry.
Strong Interest Inventory
291-item, computer-scored group that covers occupations, school subjects, types of people and work preferences. Grouped around 6 themes on which people are rated from LOW interest to HIGH interest. Tests are also gender differentiated. Research shows people's interests remain stable over time. ITEMS RATED AS "LIKE" "DISLIKE" OR "INDIFFERENT"
Bennet Mechanical Comprehension Test
68 pictures with questions about application of physical laws or principles of mechanical operation. It is designed for individual or group administration, and takes 30 minutes to complete. Used for jobs in aviation, construction, chemical plants, oil refineries, utilities, glass manufacturing, steel, paper, plywood manufacturing, and mining.
Aptitude Test
Administered to job applicants to measure specific skills, such as mechanic or clerical skills.
Computerized Adaptive Tests
Applicant takes test at a computer terminal. Test sometimes referred to as "tailored testing," because the test is tailored or adapted to the person taking it. Requires larger initial investment than paper-and-pencil test, but is more economical in the long run. Major problems include cheating (due to it being accessible online) as well as "digital divide" because not everyone has the same access to computers/Internet.
Kuder Occupational Interest Survey
Arranged in 100 group of three alternative activities. Applicants select "MOST PREFERRED" and "LEAST PREFERRED" activities. Primarily used for career counseling. Problem with survey is "faking" responses to appear more suitable.
Conscientiousness
Careful, reliable, hardworking, organized. Found to be particularly effective in predicting job performance. Valid predictor for many occupations including managerial, sales, professional, law enforcement and semiskilled jobs. Low scores proved to be valid predictor of dysfunctional behaviors such as alcoholism, substance abuse, and reckless driving. High scores very desirable in applicants.
Test 905
Example of a situational judgement test used by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to assess the human relations skills and promotion potential for first-line supervisory jobs in the federal civil service.
Speed Test
Fixed time limit testing. Example: Data-entry accuracy and speed.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2)
Frequently used personality test for employee selection and for clinical diagnostic work. Widely used in screening for jobs that require a high level of psychological adjustment, such as police officer, firefighter, air traffic controller, and airline flight crew member. Consists of 567 statements answered by "TRUE," "FALSE," OR "CANNOT SAY." One main problem is that the more often this test is taken (by an individual test taker) the less extreme the scores are.
Agreeableness
Good-natured, softhearted, trusting, courteous. LEAST relevant of the Big Five Factors. High scores on ________ are closely related to task achievement, getting along well with other group members, and dealing efficiently with conflicts.
Otis-Self Administering Tests of Mental Ability
Group administered test that is useful for screening applicants for lower level positions such as office clerk, assembly-line worker, and first-line supervisor. Not efficient for upper level positions because it does not discriminate well at the upper range of intelligence.
Cognitive Ability Tests (Intelligence Test)
Highly effective predicting success in the workplace. CAT have the highest validity for predicting success in job training and performance. High positive correlation between performance on cognitive ability tests and level of education.
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R)
Individually administered 75 minute test used for jobs that require comprehensive psychological assessment such as senior management personnel. Administration, scoring, and interpretation require well trained and experienced clinical examiner. Includes 11 subtests and has seperate verbal and performance measures of cognitive ability.
What are the BIG FIVE PERSONALITY FACTORS?
Neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness
Openness
Original, independent, creative, daring. Those who scored higher in ______ recieved significantly higher ratings from instructors in the training program. Highly related to "on the job creativity."
Integrity Test
Paper-and-pencil approach developed as an alternative to the polygraph. 15 million people per year take this type of test. The two types of this test are 1) OVERT- assess attitudes toward theft and other dishonest behavior, and 2) personality-oriented _______ test, which measure general delinquency, impulse control, and conscientiousness. MOST of these test are measuring CONSCIENTIOUSNESS.
Self-report personality inventories
Personality assessment includes questions dealing with situations, symptoms, and feelings. Test taker is asked to indicate how well each item describes themselves or how much they agree with each item.
Projective technique
Personality testing presents applicants with an ambiguous stimulus such as an inkblot.
Personality test previously used by Target
Psychscreen Test. Composed of items from both the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and the California Psychological Inventory.
Proactivity
Refers to a tendency to take action or change one's environment. ______ can determine how successful you will be in finding a job.
