General and Specific Cognitive Ability Tests

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General and Specific Cognitive Ability Tests
Excellent predictor of job performance and
training

• Marine Willard
• 03/27/06

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Agenda

• Definitions
• 2 approaches of Intelligence
• Why and when to use Cognitive Ability Test ?
• Characteristics of Cognitive Ability Test
• Most common tests
• Alberta Police example
• Benefits and drawbacks
• Recommendations

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Some definitions

• Cognitive Ability
• - relates to general mental ability or
  intelligence
• Specific Abilities include
• - Verbal reasoning
• - Numerical reasoning
• - Spatial reasoning
• - Abstract reasoning
• - Memory

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Some definitions

• General Cognitive Ability Test
• ( General Intelligence Test, General Mental
  Ability Test)
• - Measures the brain power of employees or
  applicants
• - Assesses their overall intellectual potential
• GAT measures a persons ability to
• - solve problems
• - analyze
• - understand and adapt to new situations or
  challenges
• Produces IQ scores or measure of g (general
  intelligence)

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Types of Cognitive Ability
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Two approaches of Intelligence

• Theory of One General Intelligence (Spearman)
• A single general factor (g) governs the level
  of intelligence of an individual
• - Positive Manifold high positive correlation
  between different tests of cognitive ability
• Two types of General Intelligence (Raymond
  Cattell - John Horn)
• - Fluid intelligence (gf)
• Speed of reasoning and memory
• - Crystallized intelligence (gc)
• Knowledge and skills obtained through training
  and experience

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Two approaches of Intelligence

• Theory of Multiple Intelligences
• - More than one single type of intelligence.
• - Each mental ability is independent.
• - Each person has all the different types of
  intelligence but some may be developed far more
  fully than others
• - Gardners Theory of 8 different forms of
  intelligence (linguistic, logical-mathematical,
  spatial, musical, body-kinesthetic,
  intrapersonal, interpersonal and naturalistic)

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Using Cognitive Ability Test

• Why?
• - In practice, most valid selection device
  across organizations, jobs and types of
  applicants
• - Most powerful predictor of success in both
  training and job performance across many
  different occupational groups (Schmidt - Hunter)
• When?
• - Large pool of applicants
• - Widely use in military and civilian sector
• - Useful when specific skills are required
  (accounting or IT positions, for instance)
• How?
• - Use of a cut-off score

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Typical characteristics

• Usually timed
• Objective
• Multiple choice/short answer format
• Questions usually become progressively more
  difficult
• Each question is worth the same value
• Usually paper and pencils test but recently
  available in electronic format

Highly standardized
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Most common tests

• General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB)
• Wonderlic Personnel Test
• Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test

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Example APCAT

• Alberta Police Cognitive Ability Test
• It measures an applicants ability
• - to complete police recruit training
• - to perform effectively as a police officer
• ? ability to think and reason
• Abilities measured
• - observation skills
• - learning/memory recall
• - written communication
• - problem analysis

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APCAT

• Written communication
• Which one of the four words is spelled
  incorrectly?
• a. silencer b. alcohol c. vehicle d.
  pursuent
• Observation skills
• Which of the four pictures (A, B, C, or D) is the
  original person (top picture) in disguise?

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(No Transcript)
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Some Benefits

• Highly reliable and valid
• Validity rises with increasing complexity of the
  job
• (average validity coef 0.50)
• Test administered in group settings
  (cost-effective)
• Facility of scoring the test
• Quick and efficient basis for selection
• Lower costs than other selection devices
• Results in economic gains
• Transcends language and culture

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and Drawbacks

• Issues of fairness and adverse impact on
• Race
• Gender
• Ethnic groups

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Recommendations

• Good Job Analysis conducted to identify job
  requirements? cognitive ability test has to be
  job-related
• Not only 1 measure paired with other selection
  devices (personality test) to reduce adverse
  impact and increase the validity of the selection
  decision
• Recruiter should decide whether testing specific
  abilities or g is it worth the time and money?
• Applicant perception should also be considered

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Questions ?