4.1 Selection Part 1

Question 1

What are work samples? Pros and cons

Answer 1

tests are hands on simulations of part or all of job
o Highest level of content validity
o High criterion validity
o Costly and limited to applicants who already know the job.
o Internships are example of work sample.

Question 2

What is General Mental Ability (GMA) and what does it predict?

Answer 2

general information processing capacity that facilitates reasoning, prob solving, decision making, higher thinking skills.
o GMA, g, IQ, Intelligence
o Not what people know, but capability to process / apply it.
o Predictive validity
 Valid predictor of job performance and training success. Most predictive in complex jobs.
 Negative predictor of Counter Productive Work Behaviors
 Predictor of GPA
 Modest predictor of income (some dumb people with inheritance.)

Question 3

What is gravitational hypothesis?

Answer 3

people will naturally gravitate towards jobs aligning with intelligence, values, interests. Teams together for a while have same intelligence.

Question 4

What are the negatives of GMA?

Answer 4

 Severe group differences (racial, Young have higher GMA) – lead to adverse impact/lawsuit.
 Avoid with non-cognitive factor (like personality test)

Question 5

What is the Five Factor Model of Personality?

Answer 5

CANOE
Conscientiousness
Agreeable
Neuroticism (Emotional Stability)
Openness
Extraversion

Question 6

What is Conscientiousness and what does it predict?

Answer 6

dependable, careful, responsible, organized.
 Predicts job performance and leadership.

Question 7

What is Agreeableness and what does it predict?

Answer 7

curious, flexible, trusting, forgiving, cooperative
 Predicts negative workplace deviance and teamwork.

Question 8

What is Emotional Stability and what does it predict?

Answer 8

relaxed, unenvious, tranquil, secure, content
 ES predicts job performance and job satisfaction.

Question 9

What is Openness and what does it predict?

Answer 9

imaginative, cultured, curious, original, broad-minded.
 Predicts leadership and workplace accidents.

Question 10

What is Extraversion and what does it predict?

Answer 10

social, gregarious, assertive, active, dominant
 Predicts sales performance and leadership.

Question 11

What are the methods to reduce distortion on personality assessment tests?

Answer 11

Force disguise, scale negatives

 Forced choice – which is least/most like you. Reduces data validity
 Disguised purpose – time consuming, doesn’t dramatically improve prediction.
 Contextualize Scales – Good. Make personality assessment about work behaviors.
 Highlighting the Negatives – give warning about faking and consequences

Question 12

How many interviews are enough?

Answer 12

4

Question 13

(T/F) Highly structured interviews can reach levels of validity comparable to GMA test.

Answer 13

T

Question 14

What do interviews measure?

Answer 14

 Personality traits
 Applied social skills
 Mental capacity
 Actual declarative job knowledge and skills
 Interests/preferences
 Physical (pretty)
 Fit with values of organization

Question 15

What are the negatives of interviews?

Answer 15

 Pretty people dominate unstructured interviews
 Physical appearance/impression management positively correlated with interview ratings but not job performance.
 Pre-interview impression / confirmation bias.