Employee Selection Techniques Flashcards
A psychologist is hired to assist with the development of an assessment center that will be used to hire and promote managerial level employees. The psychologist will most likely recommend including which of the following in the assessment center?
A. leaderless group discussion and in-basket exercise
B. in-basket exercise and vestibule training
C. cross-training and business games
D. realistic job preview and job rotation
Answer A is correct. Assessment centers are used most often to evaluate candidates for managerial-level jobs and involve having multiple raters rate candidates on several performance dimensions using multiple methods. The leaderless group discussion and in-basket exercise are two of the most frequently used simulation exercises in assessment centers.
Which of the following techniques is being used when job applicants must obtain a score above the cutoff score on one selection technique in order for the next selection technique to be administered to them?
A. multiple regression
B. multiple hurdles
C. multiple cutoff
D. multiple baseline
Answer B is correct. Multiple cutoff and multiple hurdles are used when a selection procedure involves administering two or more predictors to job applicants and a high score on one or more predictors cannot compensate for a low score on another predictor. When using multiple cutoff, all predictors are administered to all applicants. When using multiple hurdles, predictors are administered sequentially and applicants must score above the cutoff on a predictor in order for the next predictor to be administered to them.
An organizational psychologist was hired by a large mental health clinic to develop a structured interview that will be used to hire clinical psychologists. Questions included in the interview ask job applicants to describe how they would respond to hypothetical job-related situations that are similar to those they’re likely to encounter on-the-job. The psychologist has developed which of the following? :
A. a situational interview
B. a behavioral interview
C. a case interview
D. an informational interview
Answer A is correct. Situational interviews are future-oriented and consist of questions that ask interviewees how they would respond to hypothetical job-related situations.
Research evaluating the validity of general mental ability tests as predictors of job performance has generally found that they are:
A. valid only when used in conjunction with other selection techniques.
B. valid only when the performance measure is quantitative (versus qualitative).
C. about equally valid for members of all racial/ethnic groups.
D. the most valid predictors across different jobs and job performance measures.
Answer D is correct. General mental ability tests are among the most frequently used selection techniques and have been found to be the most valid predictors of job performance across a variety of jobs and measures of job performance. A disadvantage of these tests is that they’re associated with a greater risk than other valid predictors of job performance for adverse impact for members of some racial/ethnic minority groups.
One problem with empirically developed biographical information blanks (BIBs) is that:
A. they often provide inaccurate information because supervisors are not adequately trained in their scoring and interpretation.
B. they often provide inaccurate information because of the ambiguity of many of the questions.
C. applicants often have a negative reaction to them because some of the questions seem to be irrelevant to job performance.
D. supervisors dislike them because they resent having to compare job applicants to each other.
Answer C is correct. A disadvantage of BIBs is that, while questions address issues that have been found to be job-related, some questions may lack face validity – i.e., they don’t “look like” they’re related to job performance. As a result, applicants may consider those questions to be irrelevant and an invasion of privacy and refuse to answer them.
